The Lost Soul Arc
by MaddMatt90
Summary: Amagi Mitsuko, a former Shinigami Acadamy student, returns after 50 years to wage a war with the Sereitei in revenge of being banished to the world of the living. But he has a secret plan that no one sees coming and are surprised by his true intentions. OC, A/U
1. Ch 1 How it began

**The Lost Soul Arc**

**Chapter 1**

"Order! Silence Amagi! You are not innocent like you say you are!" A voice boomed through the shadow. The room is dark with only a single beam of light emitting from the ceiling. In that long beam of light a young man stands shackled to a podium.

"So apparently I am being sentenced for some crime that I have not committed? I demand that…"

"SILENCE I said! If you keep up with that mouth of yours, your punishment will be greater than what it already is!" The booming voice interrupted the young man, and at the same time, the guards standing around the podium come forward and draw their swords in warning.

"I have done nothing wrong! These false accusations will be the death of you!" The man, Amagi, said in shear frustration and anger.

"Fine, you leave me with no choice! I hereby sentence you to be execu-"Being interupted by a new figure, "Captain-commander Yamamato, what brings you here?"

"I override your final decision! Amagi Mitsuko will be stripped of his powers and his zanpakuto destroyed, he will than be sent to the World of the Living to spend all eternity in despair! Nothing else! My sentence is final."

Yamamoto taps the end of his cane down on the wooden floors, signaling his, and the rest of the courts, decision. Everyone in the room is abuzz about the random appearance of the 13 Court Squads head captain, but no one objects, not even Amagi.

_Why the hell do I keep having that dream? I lived it once, and I sure as hell don't need to live it again. _Amagi opens his eyes and looks up at the sky. _Seriously, I live in a nightmare now, so why do I have to dream them too? _He slowly gets up off the ground and brushes himself off. It has been many years since the ordeal with in the court room. Looking off in the distance he wonders what the Soul Society is like now and where all his friends are. Especially the one he had loved, Rangiku Matsumoto. As he begins to walk aimlessly for another day in the World of the Living, he couldn't help but think to himself if Rangiku still loved him. _I hope she doesn't, I'm nothing but a criminal to them now, and all what she knows is that I am mostlikely dead, and that's how it should be from now on. _Swinging his sheathed zanpakuto, Amagi begins to laugh, "Even if they think I am dead, Some day they will regret that thought, and beg for forgiveness, 'I forgive you all,' I will tell them, but not until after Yamamoto is dead."

"I like you attitude, kid," a voice said from behind a tree.

Pulling out his zanpakuto, Amagi just stared at this man who just appeared in front of him, "Who the hell are you?"

"Oh, you can call me your new best friend! I like your attitude; I like your hatred the most, though." He continued, "My name is Aku Tatsu, and this is Nia Utsukushii."

"So, what do two want from me?" Amagi asked

"Well, besides adding a cute face, we want you to join us!" Nia said as she flash stepped behind Amagi, who still had his zanpakuto still drawn.

"I see, and what will I be joining?"

"We two have once endured much in the Soul Society, and we want to see it destroyed. Well, mainly I do, she only wants to fight the shinigami. Any who, I have been following you for some time and, to be honest, I am truly amazed that you were somehow able to regain your spiritual pressure, and alas! Even a zanpakuto! My, you sure are an interesting young man." Aku explained to Amagi. Amagi, didn't seem to thrilled with the thought of destroying the Soul Society, but if that meant finding a way back there, he would join, but would have to find a way to dispose of these two before they enact their plan.

"So cutie, are you in? Or do I have to cut you down?" Nia said.

Amagi turned around to face her, but was lost for words when he gazed upon her. Her long blood-red wavy hair almost reached the ground. She was shorter than Amagi was, but didn't seem to be the aggressive, fighting type. She looked more gentle, and fragile to be wielding a zanpakuto almost the same height as she was. What got him the most were those eyes, a brilliant pale light green. Amagi thought to himself, _She is so gorgeous! But butterflies?! I haven't felt these in such a long time. _Her blue low cut shirt hugged her petite frame and the black pants tightly shaped her slender legs. He was mesmerized but what he saw. Still flustered, Amagi turned back to take a good look at Aku. He was the same height as Amagi was. He couldn't tell how old he was, or how strong he was due to him wearing an oversized robe and the hood was up covering his face. Amagi himself only seemed to be the type of man to follow orders, and not object. He never had a knack of following orders or being bossed around.

"Hello! I said are you in or not? It's a simple yes or no!"

"For someone who is as short and tiny as you are, you sure act tough, but-"

Before Amagi could finish, Nia had launched herself at him and punched him in the jaw.

"Screw you! You sure are an ass! I wouldn't expect that from someone who looks like he couldn't hurt a damn fly!" Nia grunted as she turned away in anger. Amagi lay on the ground in pain, but than begins to laugh, "Same goes to you. (Nia moves in to punch him again, but he dodges and smiles at her) So, yeah, I guess I will join you both. So what's the plan?"

"Good, I am glad to see that you both are getting along very well already! There is no plan, we will make one up as we go along. Until that time though, lets get a move on, no time to waste! We must get stronger before we make any plan." Aku said. An evil like smirk could be seen underneath the dark hood.


	2. Ch 2 Dreaming the past

**Chapter 2 Dreaming the Past!**

A decade before Amagi met up with Aku Tatsu and Nia Utsukushii and four after being exiled to the World of the Living, the sky opened up and began to rain. Caught out in the open, and lost, Amagi Mitsuko, ran to the nearest over hang for cover from the torrential rain. He ended up inside an old abandoned hut just at the base of a huge mountain range.

"This completely blows, there is no food, and no where to go, and of course it has to start raining." He said sulking, as he sat down on the middle of the floor. "There is nothing left for me anymore." Not wanting to begin to fathom an idea to end his suffering, Amagi decided not to stop and rest till he knew what was causing him to be drawn into these mountains. After coming up with the plan, he ate what little stale food he had left and laid down.

"Luckily I am out of the rain now, even though it is so lovely. There is always something soothing about a heavy rain fall that calms me." He said aloud as if there was someone there to listen. He soon was asleep, off dreaming of what is to come, and of what has passed.

The next day Amagi was awake before the sun came up. Instead of trying to find food, he immediately packed the clothes he had strewn about the hut. He opened the door and looked in the direction he was headed, in which a huge mountain range could be clearly visible. After a few minutes of taking in the breath-taking view, he stepped out the door and began to walk, not knowing how far, or how long it would take him to reach the mountains. Either way it did not matter to Amagi, for he had all the time in the world to reach the peaks.

Another two days passed of endless walking until he finally reached the mountains. "Well, I am here," He told himself, "now time to pick a mountain and climb." After a few hours of resting from the endless journey to this point, he finally decided on which peak to reach, "That one seems alright, not too steep yet it will create a very nice challenge. Still, this terrain is going to be the death of me, can't be too cautious here." Even though Amagi was stating the obvious, he only said that to reassure himself. Without another thought, he began to climb.

Soon after this Amagi couldn't help but notice he was being followed. He couldn't see what it was, but judging by its shadow that was being cast on the valley below him, he could tell it was fairly large and was walking on all four legs. "What the hell…" He said in shock. Picking up his pace, the shadow was only gaining ground. The faster Amagi ran, the closer the shadow was getting. What ever it was that was stalking Amagi, wasn't letting him get away easily. "This thing better go away!" He yelled down at the shadow. With out warning it disappeared, as if his yelling at it scared it away. "That shows you! You shadow beast!" Yet as he yelled that the shadow was back, but was farther away and was slowly walking. Realizing he might have only made it angry, Amagi began to ran along the edge of the cliff he was on in search of a place to hide. Not to long after, just befor the sun set, he found a small cave. "What ever the hell that was, it won't be able to fit in here, I am sure of it." Amagi said with a smirk. He entered the cave and sat against the back wall, waiting for night to end, and the next day to begin.

A few hours after the last rays of sun were seen through the entrance to the cave, Amagi slowly closed his eyes, but before he could he heard a heavy breathing outside the cave. _What's this? Why am I sensing spiritual pressure? I shouldn't be able to yet what ever this monster is, I am sensing it, _He thought in fear. As soon as those thoughts quickly went through his head, he heard the wall outside the cave crumble as if it was being dug out. "HEY GO AWAY! LEAVE ME ALONE! Just… leave me alone…" Amagi yelled in desperation.

In a desperate blight to see what it was, he pulled out a flash light he had stowed away and pointed it at the entrance to the cave. The beam illuminated a portion of the body. What was seen was a large rounded cat-like head with a gapping mouth with thousands of needle like sharp teeth. Its shoulder was taller than Amagi's six foot two inch height. It was white in color with dark blue stripes running down its feline silhouette, and ended at its massive feet which had sickle-shaped claws.

Amagi yelled in terror as it roared and lunged for him. Not knowing what to do, he swung and landed a punch square in its forehead, but it used its long thick tail and smashed him through the back of the cave.

"HAHA, what a poor sight to see! I thought a shinigami would be stronger than this! I should just merely devour you now with out a second thought!" The beast laughed with its low harsh voice as it hunched over, ready to pounce on Amagi's lifeless body.

"A… Hollow? You are too strong to be a hollow." Amagi said as he slowly began to rise from the rubble. But, before he could get up, the beast's tail slammed him back down.

"So you did notice the hole in my chest, very observant for someone who's about to be devoured!" It said to Amagi gleefully, "Oh and by the way, I don't have a name, and why would I tell it to someone who is as-" Before it could finish, a large beam of light exploded out from the rubble and smashed the wall next to the beast. "Well that wasn't very nice!" A hissing noise could be heard as the beast began to salivate. It walked into the light of the fallen flashlight and steam could be seen as its saliva hit the ground and began to dissolve it.

"Don't think you have beaten me yet!" Amagi yelled as he jumped into the air, arm back ready to punch the beast again. As he swung, and his fist made contact, the beast swiped him with its massive claws, sending him flying into the room that had opened up when the wall was knocked down. But before Amagi hit the ground, the nameless Hollow jumped on top of Amagi and opened its mouth wide, showing off another pair of teeth lining its throat.

Just than something caught Amagi's eye, and knowing his life might just end at this moment, he reached for what ever was glistening in the dim light. Not knowing what it was he swung it and it made contact with the hollow beast, slicing off its arm. Blood began to spray from the wound and Amagi knew exactly what it was; a zanpakuto. He knew it was not just a plan sword for the zanpakuto spoke to him telling him 'to cut, to survive, and don't lose or you soul is mine!'

"How dare you! I will kill you for that!"

"Let's go ugly! Not so fun attacking a defenseless man now, is it?"

"_Don't get to cocky there big guy, I still don't trust you with handling me," a_ quiet female voice rang out in Amagi's ear.

Amagi swung the zanpakuto with all his might as the hollow jumped at him in a final attempt to kill Amagi. In a shower of hot blood, the hollow was split into two in mid air and landed on the ground. It immediately disintegrated, leaving the World of the Living.

"_Impressive! I knew dragging you out here would be worth it! It's about time a nice, big man like you held me in his hands." _ The female voice whispered in his ear.

"So, you were the reason, why I felt like I had to come out here?"

"_No, I had nothing to do with that; I meant I lured you into the cave! But that doesn't matter now, you proved yourself, and as you can tell, I broke the kidu that was suppressing your spiritual pressure. So now you have your powers back AND a new play toy! By the way, Amagi, the names Kaminari, and I am just one of those 'special' kinds of zanpakuto's!" _She whispered to Amagi.

"Hmm… well, sounds fair enough to me! I could use the company from here on out!" Amagi tried to show that he was happy but failed at his attempt.

The cave begins to whiten out and turn very bright as if the cave was disappearing and letting in the sunlight all at once. Birds could be heard chirping as the scenery falls back into focus. Amagi opens his eyes and looks around at the empty room. Rubbing the sleep from his eyes as hee slowly gets up, Amagi walks to the window that over looks the Karakura Town. Placing his hand on the side of the open window, he begins to mumbling to himself angrily, "How pathetic, the shinigami still live, yet again, I sit here and dream of shit that happened a decade ago, as if I am destined to relive every horror. Oh well," He stepped back from the window, "I guess it is time to put our plan into motion. Aku is counting on me." Amagi turned around and looked at his zanpakuto lying against the wall. He walked over and examined the black semi-gloss sheath as he knelt down in front of it.


	3. Ch 3 Just the Beginning

**Chapter 3 Just the Beggining**

After a few moments of examining his zanpakuto, Amagi reached over and carassed the smooth metal casing. He felt nothing eminating off of it, so he hastily picked it up, still holindg it lengthwise in his hands. Looking deeply at it he went over the plan Aku Tatsu, his leader and boss, had him on. Flashing back to that moment, Amagi recaleld the event with every detail; Aku is seen sitting in a massive chair that his on an elevated platform, roughly three feet off the ground. Aku is leaning against the back of the chair in a lazy-like manner. Standing next to him is his new 'slave' as Amagi refers him as, Toshino.

"So, what are my orders?" Amagi asked as he walked to the edge of the platform and bowed lightly. He stood at attention waiting for Aku to speak.

"Well, it is very simple my friend," explained Aku, He leaned closer to Amagi, and rests his elbows on his knees, with his hand clasped in front of his mouth, "I am sending you back to the world of the living, and you are to draw out the Shinigami, and kill every single one that walks through the gate. Understood""

Looking down at the ground, than back up to Aku, as if Amagi was second guessing his orders, "Well, doesn't sound too bad. Than let me guess; you and… Toshina will wait until I am done, and than do a sneak attack on the Soul Society. Am I right?"

"Ha, ain't you the smart one, Mitsu," Toshina huckled as he turned to Aku and pleads, "Why don't you send me? He is weak, and every time he and I fought, he lost! He is-"

"Don't push me Toshina, you will regret it some day. By the way, SHINA, Mitsu doesn't work to well with me." Amagi said with an evil smirk on his face, resting his hand on sheath of his zanpakuto that rested on his right side; ready to pull it out with his thumb at a moments notice to strike Toshina down. He was of similar build and stance as Amagi. But, while Amagi's hair is light brown, Toshina's is a jet blue color and his eyes are yellow, while Amagis are an emerald green.

"You two, save it for the Shinigami. Amagi, get going. Toshina, stop bitching and like the task I gave you!" Aku said in frustration to the men as they were about to lunge at each other, yet again.

Amagi snaps out of his flash-back and reaches over to grab a large hooded coat he had on a coat rack sitting next to the door.

"Those fools will regret it one day." He said aloud as he threw open the door at the same time as he threw on the hooded coat, he did not care who it was meant for but it was more of a promise than a threat. As soon as he stepped outside the apartment complex he was staying at, Amagi used his own form of a shunpo. Within seconds Amagi appeared on the other side of Town just on the outskirts. He stood in the middle of the street just outside the shadows of the early sunlight; his face dimly lit and revealed an evil smirk on his face from within the hood. Enjoying the silence that soon will be interrupted, Amagi reached into his top left pocket and pulled out a massive jar filled with some unknown fluorescent green liquid.

"In my hand I hold the jar that will end all things!" Amagi shouted in pleasure. He than pulled the top cork off the jar, and with an eerie chuckle, he threw the open jar behind his shoulder. The jar began to spin, pouring out some of the liquid every time.

The same instant the jar and all of the liquid hit the street, a large tear formed in the sky above it and Amagi. The tear open wide but it was to dark to see what it was. The only thing visible was a pair of searing red eyes, and a large hand that was slowly reaching from within the tear heading straight for Amagi.

"Tsch, now it begins." Amagi chuckled, lowering his head and flipping up the hood of his jacket, with the same evil smirk on his face.

* * *

On the other side of town, Ichigo Kurosaki was sitting at his desk, fast asleep from a hard attempt to complete his homework from the night before. All was quiet in the house; his sisters and father wer fast asleep as the the clock next to him read 5:30AM. The light from the morning sun strained to break through the curtains to his room. Without warning Rukia Kuchiki, flew open the door to her 'room' which was in fact Ichigo Kurosaki's closet. She was horrified as she jumped off the shelf and smacked Ichigo in the back.

"Ichigo! Wake up!" Yelled Rukia in horror

"What the hell Rukia! Let me sleep!" Replied Ichigo in anger as he sat straight up in shock.

Rukia than threw the new Hollow Meter that she had received from Urahara Kisuke just days before, in response to previous attacks. It was more accurate and better suited for detecting vast number of hollows. Ichigo angrily picked it up and looked at it. He gasped as he looked up at Rukia, whom already had separated from her Gigai.

"This can't be!" Explained Ichigo in disbelief, "There are just too many of them!" Ichigo looked back down at the meter and it could be seen a large number of Hollows had appeared. But without another response from Rukia, Ichigo separated from his human body and headed for the window. Rukia followed in pursuit but before she left, she turned around and told her Gigai, "Watch over Ichigo's body, and don't do anything stupid with it either!"

"Awww, I will twy… That just messes up my morning though!" The Gigai said in dissatisfaction

Rukia soon caught up with Ichigo as they ran from roof-top to roof-top heading in the direction of where the Hollows were.

"Wait, Rukia, lets go get the others, we will need their help with these damn hollows." Ichigo suggested

"Your right, lets go." Agreed Rukia, and the two, changed direction and headed towards Orihime Inoue's place, their first stop along the way to pick up the others. They jumped from roof top to rooftop with Ichigo in the lead with Rukia just a step behind him.

With in minutes they reached the front door and before Ichigo could knock, it flung open and a small framed girl with a busty chest flew out from behind it and collided with him. She fell backwards, landing on her butt.

Blushing, and embarrassed, Orihime quickly apologized for running into who ever it was, and when she saw it was Ichigo she blushed even harder and apologized even greater. Ichigo in return just smiled and reached a hand out to her to help her up.

"Don't worry about it Orihime," Ichigo said smiling, "as long as your not hurt it is all good."

Blushing even harder now, all Orihime could do was nod her head, and look away even more embarrassed now.

"Alright you two, lets go, I am sure the others can feel the presence of the Menos Grande and are already there by now." Explained Rukia

"Right, let's go" Ichigo said as Orihime nodded her head.

The three quickly began to run towards where the hollows were eminating from. Ichigo again took the lead with Orihime on his back, with Rukia at his side. They went as fast as they could as the presense of the mass amount of hollows increased. The sky had grown dark with the cloud of Hollows in the distance. Fairly quickly they could see the Menos Grande huddling around a specific point, ignoring everything else around them. Growing nearer they could see that this part of the town was completely decimated; buildings crumbled and the street was all but reduced to dust. Ther was no way all of them could take on such a great number of hollows. Not with two shinigami and a human, possibly two more if Chad and Uryuu were present there already;they were greatly out numbered.


	4. Ch 4 the Thousand Hollow Battle

**Chapter 4 The Thousand Hollow Battle**

Ichigo dodged an attack from a monkey like Hollow. Its razor sharp teeth and claws frantically slashing and snapping at the air as it flew past him. Not giving the hollow a second chance at attacking, Ichigo brought his massive sword around and cut the beast deep across its back. It screetched as the blood erupted from the deep cut. Ichigo brought his zanpakuto above his head and easily cut the Hollow in two.

"This is getting out of hand," he shouted over to Rukia who just cut down another Hollow.

"You're right, there's just to many of them!" She agreed, sumersaulting over the back of another Hollow that was attemting to strike from behind. She drover he zanpakuto threw the back of its head. She twisted the sword and pulled it free just as another was charging her, its claws out strectched on either side and roaring.

"We can't keep this up for ever!" He panted as he struck a defensive position as yet another hollow jumped in front of him, rearing its head back in a ear crunching howl. Before Ichigo could strike, a massive steel covered foot slamed down on the hollow. Ichigo and Rukia followed the foot up along the black body to the white mask and deep red peircing eyes of the gigantic studed head of a Menos Grande.

"Ah shit," Ichigo breathed as a read beam erupted from the mouth, striking the ground where Ichigo was just a moment before.

"We need help, and fast!" Rukia yelled as she used a kido attack, distracting the giant hollow just long enough for Ichigo to use his getsuga Tensho. The blast of reishi ran up the length of the Menos Grande and quickly split it in two.

"Where the hell is everyone when you need 'em?" he asked as another Menos Grande bellowed behind the fallen one.

* * *

The alarm had sounded in the Seiretei, interupting the quiet, calm dead of night. A loud clapping echoed through the buildings shattering the darkness with every strike. Every squad was instantly active puring out into the streets, having their orders barked at them by their surpuriors. Due to the fact as all the Lieutenants and Captains were being called to an emergency meeting the ones giving the orders were the Third Seats.

"Hisagi, Wait up! You're running to fast!" A female's voice said in annoyance as she tried to catch up with him. Hisagi stopped for a second to wait for the women to catch up to him

"Fine Rangiku, but we have to hurry. You heard the Head Captains orders! We can't be late so no time to waste!" Hisagi explained to Rangiku in a rushed manor.

"Shesh, fine than!" Rangiku replyed, annoyed.

As soon as Rangiku caught up with Hisagi, the two of them jumped from rooftop to rooftop, trying to reach the Head Captains meeting room as fast as they could go. Within minutes the two of them burst through the front doors without warning, startling everyone in the large room. The tension within the hall had been building for the past few weeks with every Hollow attack, they seemed to have been increasing in number for some odd reason. Though every meeting ended the same; No one was sent to the World of the Living due to the substitute Shinigami and his friends killing the hollows before an order could be given. Though, this day was different.

"So now that we are all here, I can begin the emergency meeting." The Captain Commander said calmly, as everyone fell silent, "This is the fifth time in the past three weeks that a large number of hollows have appeared." Yamamoto waved to his lieutenant Chojiro Sasakibe, who in turn, pulled back a sheet revealing a large monitor screen. "As you can see by this map of Karakura Town, the area that is highlighted in red is where the hollows are appearing, but not leaving the vicinity for some apparent reason." Yamamoto continued as everyone stared at the screen in disbelief that this amount of hollows was able to get into the town so quickly.

"What do you propose we do Head Captain?" Captain Ukitake asked suddenly.

"Could this be Aizen's doing; Him keeping us on our feet?" Another Captain, Unohana, asked.

Yamamoto quickly responded by saying, "I do believe this is Aizen's doing, but I cannot be certain. I have selected a group of Lieutenants and Captains who will head to the World of the Living and stop those hollows and get to the bottom of this mess!"

Everyone silently agreed.

"I wonder though, this is very unusual for Aizen. It doesn't seem to be his style. It seems those hollows were lured there, rather than sent." Captain Shunsui Kyoraku thought aloud, not caring who heard him.

"If that is the case than, Captain Kyoraku, than I will send you, along with Captain Toshiro Hitsugaya, Kenpachi Zaraki, Byakuya Kuchiki, Lieutenants Renji Abarai, Rangiku Matsumoto, Shuhei Hisagi, Yachiru Kusajishi and Izuru Kira. Any questions?" Yamamoto said with authority.

"No sir!" Everyone said together

"Good, than all those I said who are going to the world of the living, you are to leave immediately and aid the substitute Shinigami Ichigo Kurosaki and remain there until futher notcie! You are all dismissed!" The Head Captain finished, waving a hand, signaling everyone to leave. With out another thought, or another word, every Captain and Lieutenant quickly and orderly filed out of the large room. They all eventually reached the outside courtyard and began to either flash step or run towards the main gate to the World of the Living.

Once they reached the gate, Captain Ukitake was already there waiting for the group.

"The gate will open up close to where Ichigo and the others are. As of right now, we are not sure of the full extent of the circumstance there and hopefully we can avoid any injuries… both from the enemy and from allies (A few of the Shinigami glared in the direction of Kenpachi, who in turned smiled and shrugged his shoulders and Lieutenant Yachiru giggled in response)." Ukitake said made the final preparations to open the massive doors

"Such a small group to go up against such a large number of hollows." Captain Kyoraku said with a slight hint of uneasiness in his voice. As he finished the doors opened and without another word, everyone entered the bright light that emitted from it. As the last Shinigami entered, the massive doors slammed shut, leaving Ukitake alone in the courtyard, "I wish you all luck," he thought aloud.

A few minutes after they entered, the gate opened up to reveal they had successfully entered the World of the Living in the spot they were intended. They soon gazed upon what they were up against; an even larger force than previously indicated, for the opening between Karakura Town and Hueco Munde was still open and allowing hollows to enter freely. As they moved forward to meet up with Uryuu, who was the closest person to where they had entered, a shadowy figure can be seen off in the distance, watching and waiting.

"Uryuu!" Toshiro called out, "Where is Ichigo and the others?"

"Well, we concluded that the hollows are drawn to something in the center, and in an attempt to eliminate them, we made a perimeter around the area, and if any hollow decides to wander off, we can stop it before it does. The mass in the center is too much to attack, and all attempts have failed." Uryuu responded as her turned to greet the Shinigami. He was brused with some cuts along his arm. Evidence that he had been heavily fighting.

"Interesting tactic! Well just step aside and let me handle this!" Kenpachi said, too eager to enter the battle to listen to anyone's plan on the matter before them.

"Don't get to excited there Kenny!" Yachiro said, not taking her eyes off the mass horde of hollows.

"Right, call Ichigo and them to come back and we can make up a plan." Said Kyoraku in response to everyone's uneasiness.

With out warning, a new figure appeared at the entrance to the hole in the sky. This time it was not a hollow, but of a man. Only from the mid torso on up could his body be seen. He was wearing some white uniform, and he had a chilling smile on his face. They all looked on in horror and disbelief when they recognized the wavy haired man.

"Is that…." Lieutenant Kira began, but was lost for words and couldn't finish his sentence.

"It's Aizen!" Yelled Rukia as she arrived with Ichigo and Orihime.

No one knew what to do but stare in horror at the former captain. He had been threatening them ever since he betrayed them. Before anyone could do or say a thing, Aizen gleamed at them as the tear slowly began to seal, leaving the Shinigami and humans alike, bewildered at what just happened. Yet, that was the least of their worries.

A moment later, a loud bang was heard, startling everyone causing them to turn in the direction on which it came from. All they could see was some figure moving at a high velocity through the air, blasting past them. The shockwave emmiting from this figure was enough to crack the ground, pelting everyone with debris. They covered their faces, held down their hair or in Orihime's case, held down her knee length floral dress.

Just above the mass of Hollows, the figure instantly changed direction, shooting straight into the sky. Again instantly changing direction, and with a blast of reiatsu, he hurtled at the ground. It hit with such force that the ground cracked and crumbled as the shockwave radiated outword at the speed of sound. Dirt and debris flew in all directions as the cloud from the impact rose high into the night sky and the ground collapsed into a crater. suddenly a blue-white light shone through the cracks and fissures in the ground. The light soon formed a wall and began to spiral around the center of impact. No one knew what to do but watch in bewilderment.

The spiralling light quickly seemed to be pulled inward. The air too seemed to be pulled in with the spiralling wall of light. Any loose bit of debris and rubbled crumbled as it was lifted off the ground and impacted the wall of light, spontaneously disintegrating into reishi as it spiralled inward creating a whirlpool of a mixture of solid objects and reishi. The hollows unfortunate enough to be in the whirlpool were too turned to particles of pure energy.

As the last particle of dust entered the whirlpool that was created, everything instantly was suched inward, toward the center. A blinding flash of light flashed, disorientating everyone. Just seconds after the flash a massive explosion was created, blasting outward, disintegrating any unfortanate hollow and Menos Grande that was caught in the blast zone. Before the dust could settle, Byakuya Kuchiki closed his eyes and quickly tried to sense for the figures spiritual pressure. In his attempt, he failed at that, but was somehow able to peer into its soul. What he saw only terrified him; a tall man stood at the epicenter, but couldn't be called a man. It was wearing some sort of mask like Ichigo's but it was black, with bright green eyes and a mouth full of long needle like teeth. Byakuya saw it roaring but nothing could be heard. Trying to forget about what he just saw, Byakuya opened his eyes to see a hooded man emerge from the settling dust and walk towards the group.

"Well, well, well!" The man said cheerfully as he got close enough to them, "Long time no see!"


	5. Ch 5 the Hooded Man

**Chapter 5 the Hooded Man, an Old Face Returned**

"Well, I don't know who you are or what you think you are doing, but get ut of my way or I'm gunna destroy you!" Kenpachi yelled in excitement as the hooded man slowly walked towards the large group of Shinigami and humans standing in bewilderment. Ichigo and Rukia arrived followed by Orihime and Chad just as Kenpachi ran at the man, sword lifted high over his head, he had a peculiar look in his eye as he charged. He took one swing but only sliced through air. The hooded man was easily able to dodge his swing and had his zanpakuto pointed up at Kenpachi's chin.

"What the hell! How did you-" Kenpachi's shocked voice was interrupted by another that came from underneath the hood.

"Kenny, you have always been quick to attack someone."

"And who the hell might you be?" Replied Kenpachi irritated with this man. He removed his sword from underneath his throat. With that, the hooded man took a few steps back, and sheathed his zanpakuto without a sound.

"Hey! I remember you! You were always tailing us and every time the hollows attacked he appeared and took them all out before we could do anything!" Ichigo said remembering this man frm their encounters over the past few weeks. Everytime a group of Hollows would appear, Ichigo and Rukia would disbatch to take care of them, but by the time they got there, a figure trailing them would jump in and instantly take the Hollows out.

"Yeah, you were to slow so I had to do your job for you. Some substitute Shinigami you are!" the man said jokingly.

"Watch it ass-hole!" Ichigo replied agnrily, raising his fist and reaching for his zanpakuto.

"Hey now, bud! Why so serious?" As the man said that, Ichigo reached for his zanpakuto and had swung it around and faced the tip at the man, who in return began to laugh; only angering Ichigo even more

"You two stop it!" Rukia stepped out between them, ('I hate that bastard.' Ichigo murmured) "Be quiet Ichigo! I don't know who you are, but if you took care of all those hollows and had enough resolve not to cut Captain Kenpachi's head off, than we don't perceive you as any threat. Just tell us who you are." Rukia finished in serious tone, that everyone was watching her.

"Fine, I will tell you, actually, better yet I will show you." The man bowed his head and at the same time reached up and slowly removed the hood. After that he looked up with a huge smirk strewn across his face.

"That work for you?" He said sarcastically. It took few minutes for the face of the man to sink in to the older shinigami. The man's face was sharp edged lined with stubble, his long wavy brown hair fell around his face as he peered up with emerald green eyes. His smile was menacing as he looked from face to face.

"It's…" Kenpachi began to say but couldn't find any other words to say after that due to the shock.

"Amagi Mitsuko…" Shunsui finished

"Who?" Renji asked without a second thought.

"Obviously he is talking about me! Back from the dead I guess you can say, even though I never did!" Amagi said as-matter-of-factly to them as he ran his hand through his hair.

"Than why did you make everyone think you were?" Shunsui asked as he put his zanpakuto away, and pulled down the lip of his straw hat covering part of his face.

Amagi's smile slightly faded as he said, "You know the rules of when you find a cast out of the Soul Society, especially when one has a zanpakuto and spiritual pressure."

"Wait, is that true?" Ichigo asked

"Sadly, it is true," Shunsui replied hastily, "the rule was made up centuries ago just in case of an event like this."

Rangiku lowered her head and tears began to fall off her checks and land on the dry dirt.

Toshiro chimed in, "Well what are we going to do now? If it is a rule than we have to abid by it!"

"Hold on a second!" Ichigo jumped in, "He did help us take care of all those hollows, and he seems like if he wanted to he could take us all-"

Before Ichigo could finish, Amagi interrupted him by noisily pulling his zanpakuto from its sheath and than thrusting the tip of it into the dirt. "I am not here to fight you guys, but if you insist I will not go down without a fight." With that, Rangiku shoved past a few of the captains and drew her zanpakuto only stopping a few feet in front of Amagi, head still down, and tears still falling off her checks.

"Rangiku…" Amagi said softly as she looked up and stared into his eyes

"Amagi, you made me think you were dead, now you randomly appear out from no where after I don't know how many years, and expect us to welcome you with open arms?" She yelled at him with her zanpakuto pointed at him.

"I only made you think that so you would move on with your life and not be stuck on me. I know I shouldn't have done that to you, but I am sorry, I think it was the right thing to do." Amagi said. As he finished his attitude changed from being smart with everyone to being gentle and caring to Rangiku. He left his zanpakuto where it was and folded his arms across his chest and smiled at Rangiku.

"What you think was the right thing to do, only made things worse for me." She said in response. A worried expression darted across her face as she began to realize she didn't like where this situation was headed. Here stood before her the man she once loved and, while the rest were pushing away from the rule of encountering a condemned Shinigami with a zanpakuto, she was trying to insist on taking him out. Without warning or a second thought, Rangiku lunged at Amagi. His smile quickly disappeared as he easily dodged her first attack by stepping to one side. No one else said, or did anything as they watched in disbelief of what Rangiku had just done.

She swung a second and a third time with the same outcome as the first; Amagi easily dodging every attack. With the fourth attempt to hit Amagi, Rangiku was caught off guard as Amagi reached over and quickly picked up his zanpakuto and blocked the down swing.

"You know I am not going to hurt you Rangiku," Amagi said as he looked into her eyes and again smiled at her. She only glared at him in frustration.

She jumped back, and quickly set herself up for another go at him. But this time it was different. As she made a hard downward swing, Amagi quickly grabbed the blade with his bare left hand in mid-swing, and swung his zanpakuto behind him only stopping the tip of the blade just inches from a new figures neck that had just appeared behind him.

"Thought you could be sneaky, Byakuya." Amagi said sarcastically

Everyone one stared in shock as they never realized Byakuya had flash stepped behind Amagi, for one thing, and couldn't believe how fast Amagi was on countering him even before Byakuya could swing his zanpakuto. Byakuya was even more shocked to realize that Amagi had tracked him from where he was standing and timed his counter with himself and Rangiku at once.

"What's the matter, Byakuya? Something scare you?" Amagi said in an evil-like tone. Byakuya looked at Amagi in shock. The image of him going berserk while he was attacking the hollows still rang in his mind. Without realizing it he noticed that part of Amagi's face was in shadow while the other side was in light. The part of his face that was in shadow took on a peculiar shape, and the same eye yet again turned a bright green. Amagi sprang a chilling smirk as he glared back at Byakuya.

"Did he just stop Byakuya in mid Shunpo?" Rukia asked in shock

"Is that even possible?" Uryuu asked as if some one knew the answer.

"How did you do that?" Rangiku quietly asked partially about her blocked attack, and also of Byakuya's failed sneak attack.

Shunsui walked over and put his hand on Rangiku's shoulder and calmly shook his head, anticipating that her and Byakuya would try attacking Amagi again. Rangiku took a step back and realized that there was blood running down the sharp edge of her zanpakuto and had dripped onto her hands. Amagi too realized that he was bleeding from the deep gash in his hand and turned and stared at the crimson liquid that oozed down his arm. He made a few quick spins with his zanpakuto and quickly put it away, not taking his eyes off the wound. Byakuya at the same time re-sheathed his zanpakuto as well and flash stepped behind the rest of the Shinigami. He faced the opposite direction, and stood in silence, not daring to turn around to look at Amagi.

"Here let me heal the wound for you Amagi!" Orihime volunteered as she ran over to him. Amagi just smiled and shook his head. Nodding in response she stopped where she was, deciding that it was best to just watch.

Rangiku finally came to her senses and walked over to Amagi and quickly threw herself at him. Startled at what was happening, Amagi caught her and brought her close, holding her in his arms.

"I'm sorry Amagi, I didn't mean to hurt you! I just got so frus-" Rangiku began to say as she cried on Amagi's shoulder.

"Do not let that worry you Rangiku, I should be the one apologizing. I hurt you emotionally and you had every right to attack me." Amagi reassured her.

But soon after he finished talking, his attention was drawn to his bleeding hand. After a few moments with Rangiku in his arms, he let go and took a step back, reaching into his jacket and tore a section off and began to wrap his hand in a make-shift bandage. As soon as he finished he called for everyone to come closer, "Well now that I think we can all be friends now, there is something I want to show you." as he said that he began to pull apart the jacket. As he did, a bare chest was shown, which was covered in numerous scars from battles from the past. The pants he was wearing seemed to be from Shinigami uniform and was probably all he had left of it. But what caught the attention of the Shinigami was of a crest over Amagi's heart. There was also a series of bands around Amagi's right arm.

"It is called the Eye of Rah," Amagi said as he placed a finger on the marking. "I believe it was supposed to remove my spiritual pressure, but obviously it failed."

As everyone was staring at the markings, Rangiku couldn't help but notice one scar on Amagi's chest that looked out of place. It started from the middle of his chest and moved in a diagonal towards his right side of his abdomen. What made this scar peculiar is the fact that it must have been an extremely deep cut, and should have been fatal for it must have cut through many vital organs. Realizing that Rangiku was focused on this one specific scar, Amagi looked at her and smiled, saying "It is nothing to worry about; it was only just a flesh wound."

"Well, if you say so." Rangiku replied not entirely believing that it was nothing.

"But the markings Amagi, are you sure the Head Captain did that?" Lieutenant Kira asked hastily.

"I believe so, but I could be wrong." Amagi responded as he shrugged his shoulders. Shocked with his answer, no one said another thing about the strange markings over his heart and the four bands that wrapped around his upper arm. Nor did they mention anything about the numerous scars that lined his body.

"Well if no one has anything else to say than I think I will leave you to tend to the mess." Amagi finally said, breaking the silence.

"Remember this Amagi, don't be a stranger, if you find yourself in this neighborhood again, feel free to stop by and say 'hello'," Shunsui said as Amagi turned around and began to walk away with his jacket strewn over his right shoulder. On his back there were not as many scars as there were on the front of his body, but the major one that stood out was what looked like a large cat-like animal had scratched him pretty badly. He turned his head to the side, revealing that trademark smirk of his and waved his hand in the air.

'Tsch, the next time I show up in this area, you all will be begging for mercy, and I will not show any.' Amagi thought to himself, as he lowered his hand and looked forward, his smile disappearing. Walking a good distance from the area Amagi sonic flash-stepped to an unknown area, leaving a crater where he once stood.

A half an hour after Amagi had left, The Lieutenants along with Ichigo and his friends were busy starting the cleanup as they waited for other squad members to enter the World of the Living to help them. A good distance away all the captains stood before a large screen, talking with Head Captain Yamamoto. With them Urahara along with Yoruichi stood, giving what information they new about what events took place. After all the events were recalled, even Byakuya's look into Amagi's soul, the Head Captain came up with his decision on what to do.

"It seems that the traitor Amagi Mitsuko is up to something. That crest you say that was over his heart was not of my doing. You know the procedures of what happens to the condemned. What ever the circumstance, you must not trust that man." The Head Captain said, "You all are to keep post here in this world until he reappears. Tell the lieutenants nothing of this; just tell them it is incase another large scale attack of hollows happens again." He continued as he fully opens his eyes, "Amagi might be working with Aizen so if you see either one, do not hesitate to kill them. Understood?"

"Yes sir!" the captains said together.

As the screen went black and vanished. Urahara gave Yoruichi a concerned look as if he knew the dangers that were to come.


	6. Ch 6 Into the Soul

**Chapter 6 Into the Soul**

Amagi Mitsuko found himself again staring out the window of his apartment. His room was on the fifth floor of a not-so-great apartment complex just on the outskirts of Karakura Town. The neighborhood wasn't the greatest, but no one seemed to take notice of this man. He had that stare that would make any man shiver and divert their eyes for they thought if they looked in them longer than a second, Amagi would rip them apart; limb by limb, and would enjoy it as well. With that, no one bothered him, and he bothered no one.

Back in his room, Amagi continued to stare off into the distance, just as the sun began to rise. The battle with the hollows and him showing himself to the Shinigami took place in the dead of night, so the loss of human life was more than he and expected. 'That will anger them more,' he thought to himself, sometime after he returned home. The time seemed to be slipping by him, because before he realized it, the sun had broken the horizon. Without warning Amagi walked over to his zanpakuto which sat in the middle of the floor. When he had materialized back in his apartment after his sonic flash-step, Amagi had thrown the sword across the room in frustration; "That is what you get kaminari!" He had yelled at it as it sat there.

Amagi reached down to pick it up, and noticed how cold and how silent the sword was. He remembered when she wouldn't be quiet and would always be fidgeting, but that was decades ago. Amagi silently sat down and folded his legs, placing his hand on the now un-sheathed blade as it lay across his lap.

"Kaminari, this time you better give me what I want!" As he said that, he opened two canisters that he had pulled out of his pocket. The canisters were unmarked containers that had an eerie dark presence about them. As he placed them to his left and right side, a blue box formed around him with a soft zapping sound.

"And this time the stupid particle barrier better hold." Amagi said as he tapped one of them and a sizzling shiver ran up the side of the barrier. "Now, don't be a bitch Kaminari, I'm coming to get my powers back!" Amagi lowered his head and began to slowly fall into a trance. As he did, his spiritual pressure began to greatly increase, but was held in by the now buzzing barrier.

Within a few moments Amagi's apartment faded and he found himself standing in the brightest place he had ever been. He shielded his yes trying to focus on the terrain around him. He looked down and realized he was standing in sand, and as soon as his eyes adjusted to the new light, he looked up to see nothing but rolling sand dunes, with no signs of life. There was nothing but sand, which seemed to go on for an eternity.

He looked up to the sky and was shocked to see not just one sun; but three. The first looked like to be the same size as the normal sun. The second which was just left and a little lower than the first was smaller but glowed a brilliant blue. The third sun was just barely breaking the horizon and was miniscule compared to the other two; it was small but burned a deep red. As he took a mental picture of the unusual suns, a huge gust of wind blasted against him, picking up sand as it went.

"What a wonderful place, don't you think so Kaminari?" He said as he looked back and smirked at the figure that had appeared behind him.

"Nice to see you again Amagi," Kaminari casually said "but you know I told you not to return back here."

She was wearing an oversized cloak that dragged across the sand. It was once a very nice, brilliant white garment, but as time passed, it had been stained by the sand and the tree suns that loomed over head. Around her head she a large turban that only revealed her cyan colored eyes and a few strands of her long brown hair, in which was being blown heavily in the wind.

"But you never answered my question, Kaminari." Amagi said forcefully. His smirk disappeared as he turned to face her.

"Amagi, this is what you have done to your own soul," Kaminari began, "In your self destruction and hatred you let your soul become consumed by it all!"

"HA, I still have a soul?" He laughed in response, "I thought my soul was completely consumed by my lust for destruction! It is a good sight to see that it is better than ever!"

Kaminari grimaced at his words. The two of them have been side by side for decades, and this is what has become of her wielder; a hatred driven monster.

"What has happened to you Amagi? Ever since Nia's death, you've been on a downward path, and cut down anything in your way." Kaminari said. There was a sense of sorrow and resentment towards Amagi, who in response glared at her in anger.

Amagi relived the moment Nia had died every day since it happened. Always blaming himself, Kaminari concluded that that day was the beginning of the end for Amagi; His heart broke, and his soul was shattered.

He flashed back to that fateful day. Bodies of hollows were strewn across the ground in a clearing of an old forest. Amagi was hunched over pleading with a motionless woman to speak to him. She was covered in blood from a gaping wound in her abdomen. Covered in her blood Amagi, still held her in his arms until she temporally gained consciousness.

"A-Amagi?" She stuttered.

"Yes Nia, I am here, don't worry about a thing, I am here." He reassured her.

"I love you Amagi, never forget that…" Her voice trailed off as she began to loose consciousness again.

"I love you to Nia." He whispered to her as she drew her last breath. Hearing those words, she passed, leaving Amagi sitting there holding her lifeless body, stroking her long, wavy red hair. A few moments past and he laid her body down, and stood up. Suddenly all the anger, and pain Amagi was holding back burst out of him. Drawing his zanpakuto her went berserk, attacking everything and anything that moved.

"Her death wasn't your fault Amagi." Kaminari said as she realized he probably was recalling that fateful event. Amagi just stood there and stared at her.

"It was my fault, I couldn't protect her. Now I am punishing world." He replyed back

"Punishing the world?" She asked not understanding what he meant.

"It is this world's fault that prevented me from being able to protect her." He said in a soft harsh manner. "But enough of that crap, I am here for the rest of my powers." Amagi went to reach for his zanpakuto, but to his surprise, it was not there. Looking frantically for it he failed to notice that Kaminari had flash-stepped before him, and when he did he turned to face her. She quickly placed her right pointer finger on his chest which ultimately disintegrated Amagi's shirt, revealing the numerous scars on his chest. Without warning Amagi swung his first just barely missing her as she dodged it.

Landing some feet away from him, Kaminari threw open the cloak revealing her well fit figure and her full breasts. She was wearing a tight black combat suit underneath the cloak. She reached around and drew her zanpakuto that was hidden behind her back. She swung it around and pointed it at Amagi.

"Oh, this isn't fair!" Amagi said sarcastically.

"It is the price you pay for trying to destroy me!" She replied in irritation.

"Why would I want to go and destroy you? You are the source of my powers, and I am only here to take them." He said as he raised his arm up and put his hand against the back of his head. He started messing with his hair, running his fingers through it.

Kaminari lowered her sword and than pointed at Amagi's chest.

"Those markings that I placed on you should have prevented you from returning to you already decimated soul," She said. Amagi could see the sadness growing in her eyes. "All the hope, all the memories… eroded till it was nothing but sand and blown across the vast emptiness that over took you."

Amagi just shook his head in disagreement. "This isn't decimated, if there wasn't a soul to break into, than I would be worried. But regarding these markings, what is the point of them? I found my way back here and I am going to get you to release your powers to me, even if I have to absorb you my self!" Kaminari's eyes widened at Amagi's last sentence. The thought of that happening horrified her.

"You wouldn't!" She yelled in disbelief.

Smirking again, Amagi replied, "I'll do what it takes to get you to release your powers to me."

With that, Kaminari lunged for Amagi, sword raised to strike. At the same time he also lunged at her, his right fist held back. They collided in mid air, creating a massive shock wave blasting a crater in the sand. The blast created a huge dust cloud, obscuring Kaminari's line of sight. With a loud laugh Amagi released a large amount of spiritual pressure which blew the air born sand away, revealing him standing with out a scratch. Focusing on his face, Kaminari saw his eyes began to glow a bright green, and he was yet again smirking at her.


	7. Ch 7 the Sealed Heart

**Chapter 7 the Sealed Heart**

"Sword or no sword, I am getting my powers back!" Amagi said to Kaminari as she stood there in shock.

In a matter of micro second, Amagi appeared directly in front of her. He landed a direct punch right in her stomach causing her to cough, and the cloak disintegrated with Amagi's blow also the turban had blown off as she hurtled backwards into the sand. Before she could do anything Amagi was looming over her with his foot raised in the air. His heal came crashing down, but Kaminari just barely dodged it; where she was just a moment before had exploded in a cloud of sand. She looked down at the settling sand and realized Amagi was not there. In an instant her eyes widened as she sensed he had appeared behind her. She quickly swung behind her, but Amagi dodged it. He tried to counter the attack by blasting him self at her, trying to tackle her, but he ultimately missed. In response Kaminari swung her zanpakuto creating a shock wave that hurtled straight at Amagi. He put up his hand and blocked it and was directed around him.

Amagi disappeared, and Kaminari was unable to track him. When she finally was able to, her eyes widened in shock. He appeared behind her and was going to throw a punch, but Kaminari countered with her zanpakuto. The insant before his fist, and her blade were to make contact, Amagi switched his stance and swung his leg around, landing a direct blow to her stomach with the sole of his foot. She was blasted backwards and yet again slammed into the sand.

"Kaminari, I am seriously disappointed in you." Amagi said, dissatisfied.

She stood up to look at Amagi but before she could make eye contact, he was gone. Without warning he appeared next to her with his leg lifted up high. In shock, the only thing she could do was take the full force of the kick that slammed down on her head. Looking down on her unconscious body Amagi turned around to walk away, thinking that it was pointless defeating her. He had not gotten to far when he heard her cough and start laughing.

"I see you have mastered that Shunpou you were always working on. What do you call it?" Kaminari asked as she gritted her teeth in pain while she stood up to face Amagi.

Smirking as he looked back at her he said, "It is called Sonikku Shunpou (Sonic Flash Step). You like it?"

"It is interesting, and it is extremely fast," She explained, "and I also noticed it is virtually untraceable."

"You are right, that is what makes it amazing." In an instant he was gone.

He appeared next to Kaminari who swung her sword at him in response. To her horror he caught the blade with his bare hand.

"You want to know how it works?" Amagi asked her as he looked her in the eye and gave his evil smile. She never said a word; only stared back at him.

"You know how in a normal Shunpou, reiryoku is used from within to help boost a shinigami as he is running, making him faster." Kaminari just nodded, not breaking eye contact. "Sonikku Shunpou is different as it should not be even classified as such. Instead of pulling reiryoku from within, surrounding reishi is absorbed." Her eyes widened as Amagi continued to describe it. "When enough is taken in, which does not take longer than a few seconds, it is channeled into the first step instantly boosting the regular Shunpou a hundred times over. The downfall of it though, is the greater the distance needed to travel with it, the greater the amount of reishi needed to be absorbed. Also it tends to have an…. 'Explosive' aftermath."

Kaminari tried to think of what he meant by explosive aftermath. After a few seconds she realized what he meant; every time Amagi used the Sonikku Shunpou, a crater was left in the sand and the wind randomly shifted direction away from where he was standing when he disappeared. In response, Kaminari opened her mouth to ask him if it was correct, but no words came out.

Letting go of the zanpakuto, Amagi stepped back to get a better look at the amount of damage Kaminari had received. Part of the tight combat suit she was wearing had been torn away from around her stomach up to the left side of her chest and around her left arm. Her muscular stomach was bruised severly along with her left arm, but since the garment was still intact on her shoulder, he couldn't tell if he shoulder was bruised as well.

"I'm surprised Kaminari." Amagi said after a few minutes with the two of them just standing there staring each other down.

"Why is that?" She asked

"You have taken a lot of damage and yet you still stand." She looked down in response to Amagi saying that and checked her self for any fatal injuries.

"I may have taken a beating but I am still ready to defend what is left of your soul." She replied as she looked up and took a fighting stance; raising her arm above her head, and pointing her zanpakuto at Amagi.

Amagi smirked at her as he began running at her. She soon followed and began charging at him.

"Tenshi no tsubasa (Angel Wings)!"

Amagi dropped to the ground kicking up a cloud of sand as a huge flash of light blasted towards him, just barely missing him. He looked towards where Kaminari stood.

"You missed!" Amagi called to her, provoking her to attack him again. She only smiled and pointed behind him. He quickly turned around and saw that the boomerang shaped silver energy blast had reversed direction and was headed back towards Amagi. Shocked, Amagi jumped back and watched it dig into the sand and blast by him. This time, he didn't look away from it. He watched it as it came back around for another pass. As it lined up and started to dig into the sand once again, Amagi stood and raised his arm up and pointed a finger at it. Looking over at Kaminari he smirked as his reiatsu began to build up at the tip of his finger. A black ball of energy started to grow.

"NO!" Kaminari yelled but it was too late. Amagi released the ball which turned into a black beam. It incinerated the Kaminari's Tenshi no Tsubasa and continued on; burning a trench of black sand as it went.

"You're lucky I didn't point that at you Kaminari." Amagi said to her as he turned to walk towards her.

Kaminari looked down and tears began to drip off her cheeks.

"With that Bala, you just proved that I can no longer save you." She quietly said as Amagi gradually got closer. She looked up in anger and in sorrow and yelled "You have become a monster; nothing can free you from what you have become!"

Amagi grinned at the thought, "I'm a monster? That suits me well actually."

Amagi stoped just a few feet in front of Kaminari and quickly reached out and grabbed her by the throat and began to squeeze.

"What? You're no longer going to put up a fight?" He asked her in disgust. Kaminari did not answer. Amagi squeezed even harder and he smiled as he heard her begin to gasp for breath. Kaminari's grip on her zanpakuto tightened and she thrusted it into Amagi's unsuspecting stomach.

Amagi let go of her throat and bent over onto Kaminari in pain. But this pain wasn't like any other he has ever felt, for he has been stabbed before. He looked down at the sword where it entered his stomach but was surprised to see it was glowing.

Kaminari leaned forward and whispered into Amagi's ear, "The four bands on you arm were to prevent you from coming back into you soul. The Eye of Rah on you chest is to seal away what little remains of your true being; every emotion you have ever felt, everything that was once who you really were. What you have become has destroyed your soul and I am here to prevent it from being destroyed completely." As she finished, she kissed him on his cheek. He felt her tears land on his face.

She leaned back and pushed Amagi upright. As she did she pulled out the still glowing zanpakuto. The instant it was pulled out, the entrance and exit wound erupted in a shower of gold reishi.

"Kaminari," Amagi mouthed as he fell backwards and landed in the soft sand. She stood over him and looked him in the eyes.

"I will protect you always Amagi." She said quietly to Amagi as more tears fell from her cheeks.

"Kaminari, I will leave you with this to think about." Amagi said as he began glow, "With the seven keys I will change the world, I will change all of this." He closed his eyes and everything around him turned white and began to fade.

Hours later Amagi opened his eyes to see he had returned to his apartment. Shaking his head he slowly stood up and looked over at the barrier that was still there. On one side it was severely cracked and the canister was crushed. He reached over and picked it up.

"These worked better than I though they would."

He than tossed it aside as he looked over at the mirror. He put his hand where Kaminari had stabbed him and noticed there was no mark or indication she had. He did notice something on his back. He turned around and out of the corner of his eye he was surprised to see another tattoo like marking on his back. The three scars he had received from the hollow he had killed back when he first found his zanpakuto had been replaced by three black ink-like markings going from the left shoulder down his right side lower back.

"Kaminari…" He quietly said as he turned and punched the wall next to the mirror, leaving a huge hole into the next apartment. He apologized to his neighbors as they looked through it angrily. Amagi just moved the mirror over to block the hole. He than went over to his bed and threw himself on it, staring up at the ceiling and, with his hand on the marking on his chest, thought about what had just happened, and is about to happen.


	8. Ch 8 Rangiku's confession

**Chapter 8 Rangiku's Confession**

Two weeks had passed since the day Amagi Mitsuko presented himself to the Shinigami and humans. After Amagi had left them, the Captains and Vice-captains were ordered to stay in the world of the living to be a first line of defense if anymore hollows attack; that's what the Vice-captains were told. In truth, the Captains, Urahara Kisuke and Yoruichi Shihouin were the only ones who knew the true reasons on why they were still stationed in the World of the Living; to keep an eye on the former Shinigami in training, Amagi Mitsuko. They believe he has sided with Aizen and he is only a diversion away from Aizen's true plan. Though they were not for certain, they could only speculate why and how.

On this day every one was off doing their own thing while Rangiku and Orihime lay out on the roof of Orihime's house. They were in bathing suits sunbathing in he evening sun.

"So Rangiku, question for you." Orihime asked after a while of silence between the two, Orihime's mind was racing a mile a minute.

"Yes Orihime?" Rangiku replied.

"Why do you think you all are still stationed here?"

"Ohhh, I don't know!" Rangiku replied shrugging her shoulders, "Probably has to do with Amagi and his randomly appearing a few weeks ago." She closed her eyes and thought back to that day and remembering how she missed looking into his soothing eyes.

"I suppose he would have something to do with it." Orihime thought aloud as she laid back in the lawn chair.

Rangiku did not even pay any attention to what Orihime last said, she was to busy lost in thought. She thought back to the day her and Amagi first met; the first day of the Shinigami Academy.

"You are?" the teacher had said to a young man as he burst into the room, causing everyone to go silent. He was wearing the students white unifrome with blue trimming.

"Amagi Mistuko, ma'am!" The young man had said turning a dark shade of red in embarrassment and bowing deeply.

"No, you are late!" She had said sarcastically, "now go take a seat, because you are disrupting my class even further." Amagi bowed again and quickly found an open seat towards the back of the class room. As he walked, he looked down because everyone was staring at him and laughing.

"Now than, where was I? Oh yes, I remember." She said to herself as she turned back to the chalkboard in front of here, and began to write out the differences in Reiatsu and Reishi. She began talking and Amagi was quickly focused in on her lecture.

"Psst!"

Amagi looked up from his notes and looked around.

"Psst! Over here!"

He looked over and noticed the strawberry-blonde girl sitting diagnally behind him trying to get his attention.

"What." Amagi said sharply. The girl looked taken aback at his harshness.

"Well, shesh! I was only trying to ask you if you understood any of this!" She whispered to him.

Amagi blushed and apologized to her, "I'm sorry, I didn't mean it like that, just annoyed with the bitch of a teacher." He whispered, "But yes, even though I was late, I still get this, what about you?"

"Eh barely, she is going to fast!" She said a touch to loud for the teacher had heard and through a piece of chalk at them. It struck Amagi in the forehead leaving a red mark as it shattered. Everyone began laughing again as Amagi's face turned red with a mix of frustration and embarrassment.

"Be silent you two!" She yelled at them. Rangiku giggled at his dispense, but still, there was something about him that was alluring to her. She could not place her finger on it though. Not yet at least.

Some time had passed and the class was over. As Amagi began to stand and caught a better glimpse at the girl who was sitting behind him. He blushed again as his eyes stopped on her breasts and realized she just saw him do that.

"Like what you see?" She said jokingly, "The names Rangiku Matsimoto and I am glad you are looking at my face now, and not my chest!" Rangiku held out her hand to Amagi, who in turn took her had and shook it.

"I…I'm Amagi Mitsuko, I didn't mean to do that!" He said quickly as he looked into her light blue eyes. 'I think I am in love.' He thought to himself as she smiled at him and walked past him towards the door. She was lost in his green eyes, how despite his predicament seemed bright, and comforting.

Opening her eyes Rangiku noticed there was a change of Reiatsu on the roof top that her and Orihime were on, she could not sense who it was.

"Well, about time you woke up!" A shadow said as he stood over Rangiku. She screamed and swung a punch, landing it straight on the shadows cheek.

"What the hell Rangiku!" He said as he rubbed his cheek.

"Sorry Amagi, but you didn't need to be all creepy and stand over me like that!" Rangiku said as she stared at Amagi and massaged her hurting fist.

"Yeah I guess you're right on that one." Amagi said as he put his hand behind his head and smiled.

"What are you doing here Amagi?" Orihime asked as she covered her body with a towel, even though she was wearing a bikini.

"Sorry I was bored so I thought I would drop in and say 'hi' and chat for a while." Amagi said as he leaned against the railing.

"What do you want to talk about?" Rangiku asked

Amagi checked out Rangiku from head to toe and said, "My, you still look as beautiful as ever Rangiku." She blushed and looked away. He looked her in the eye and continued to say, "I am sorry I put you everything I did Rangiku. I know how you are; if you would have known I was still alive you wouldn't have moved on from me. I knew you still had a thing for Gin when we were together, and I didn't want that to affect you while I was gone."

Rangiku looked up at the sky and tears began to run down her cheeks.

"Amagi…" Rangiku began but couldn't finish her sentence. He walked over to her and sat next to her as she sat up and looked at him with tear filled eyes.

"I thought it was the right thing to do than, but now I see how much pain it caused you. So, if you don't trust me, like the others don't, than I do not blame you." Amagi lowered his head, and with his eyes, just watched Rangiku's reaction.

"Amagi, I figured you did it for the best, so I forgive you. It just threw me off when I saw you standing there, and after decades of thinking you were dead and seeing you were not, I don't know, I lost control-" Before Rangiku could finish, Amagi grabbed her chin and turned her head so they were face to face.

"No need to apologize Rangiku. Any one would have done what you did if they were in your place." He said to her.

Soon after, Amagi and Rangiku began to exchange memories with Orihime there listening in. They had many stories; many funny, sad, and romantic.

"Remember our first kiss, Amagi?" Rangiku asked softly, looking Amagi in the eyes after they stopped laughing.

"How could I forget that moment?" He replied jokingly, "Sorry Orihime, it's going to be a mushy love story!"

Orihime laughed and shrugged her shoulders, "Its ok, I kind of want to hear this one."

"It went something like this-"Rangiku paused, reached over and grabbed Amagi's face gently. She looked deep into his eyes and though the spark that was in them so many decades ago was not there, she just shrugged it off thinking that the hard time he went through might have changed that. She continued to stare into his eyes for a few minutes, forgetting everything around her, and forgetting the pain she had just felt earlier that day.

"I think I still love you Amagi." She whispered to him. She looked away as her face turned a bright red.

Amagi did not say a word as he leaned over and kissed her. She did not resist, she was lost in the moment. Orihime blushed and looked away from them, only looking back at them to catch a glimpse. 'The first key has been revealed.' Amagi thought to himself as he leaned back and stared into Rangiku's eyes. Rangiku's cheeks where a bright red as she looked back into Amagi's eyes. After a few moments without saying anything and remaining in that position, Amagi noticed a change in the atmosphere.

"Well, I am sorry to disrupt your… reunion you two." A voice said suddenly behind them. "But Amagi, we need to talk."

They all quickly looked over to see Captain Shunsui and the rest of the Captains standing in midair with their zanpakuto's drawn. Amagi stood up and stared back at them.

"You guys have just superb timing don't you?" Amagi asked sarcastically. "What do you all want now?"

"I think you know why we are here Amagi Mitsuko." Kenpachi said as looked over at Amagi.

"I think it be best that you go two go inside, Rangiku and Orihime." Toshiro quickly added.

Rangiku looked from Toshiro's face to Amagi's barely grasping what is going on. Amagi nodded to her to follow her Captains orders. Rangiku looked over to Orihime who nodded as well, and the two opened the roof door to the house and walked down the stairs to the main floor.

Rangiku and Orihime sat in silence. They had long changed back into their regular cloths and wondered what was going on outside. Rangiku was fixated on what just happened between her and Amagi and did not know what to do. She sat on the couch, while Orihime was at the dinning table looking over at her.

Orihime eventually spoke up asking, "Did you really mean that?"

"Mean what?" Rangiku responded not fully paying attention.

"I mean, did you really mean what you told Amagi; that you loved him still?"

"I don't know if I am in love with the memories that him and I shared, or with the thought that he is back." Rangiku said as she looked up at the ceiling. 'There is something different with him, and I do not know what it is. When he is looking at me, there is a different sense about him, I just cannot grasp it.' She thought to herself, not paying attention to Orihime who only nodded and could not find the words to make a response. Silence again descended on the two.

After what felt like an eternity, the house suddenly began to shake and a dense wall of reiatsu overtook them.

"What the-" But before Rangiku could finish, the ceiling blasted inwards, sending pieces of wood, concrete and metal flying everywhere. A figure followed directly with the first blast, exiting the other side of the room. Both impacts left two huge holes in the complex. Rangiku soon regained her footing and looked out of the hole in the ceiling. To her horror, she saw Amagi holding Captain Byakuya by the throat, with his zanpakuto drawn and pointing it towards Toshiro.


	9. Ch 9 Downfall of the Captains?

Ch 9 Downfall of the Captains?

"I think it be best that you go two go inside, Rangiku and Orihime." Toshiro quickly added.

Rangiku looked from Toshiro's face to Amagi's just barely grasping what is going on. Amagi nodded to her to follow her Captains orders. Rangiku looked over to Orihime who nodded as well, and the two opened the roof door to the house and walked down the stairs to the main room.

Amagi watched the two girls as they entered the building and waited till he heard the slam of the door as it closed before he looked back at the Shinigami that stood before him. He did not say a word but stood and glared at them, making a few of the captains uneasy.

"Amagi, we have been ordered to capture you; dead or alive, so I think I know the answer so let's just get on with it." Captain Shunsui Kyoraku said as he reached up with his free hand and tilted his straw hat. With that Amagi drew his zanpakuto and spun it a few times in his hand before pointing it at him.

"I hope you know I won't go down without a fight." Amagi said in a matter-of-fact way.

"Cocky son of a bitch," Captain Kenpachi said aloud, resting the back of his zanpakuto on his shoulder.

"I know the law stating that if you see a condemned former shinigami or, in my case, a shinigami in training, that you are required to arrest him, or…" Amagi's eyes glimmered with the though, "be executed on the spot."

"Yes that is correct Amagi, but if we didn't expect you to be working with Aizen we would have just let you go and-"Captain Byuakuya Kuchiki began but was interrupted by Amagi who began laughing

"HA you really think I would work with that low life, that piece of crap that got me kicked from the Acadamy?"

"So, you are not working for Aizen than?" Captain Toshiro Hitsugaya asked not believing what he just heard, "Than who are you working for than?"

"Oh you will find out soon enough." Amagi said giving him an evil smirk.

Just as Captain Shunsui opened his mouth to put in his thought, Amagi jumped up in the air and vanished with a burst of reiatsu and before anyone realized Amagi had disappeared, he appeared in the middle of the group. Everyone turned in horror to see Amagi standing there with an evil look about him. As fast as he could, Shunsui swung his zanpakuto but Amagi dodged it. Amagi quickly countered punching Shunsui in the jaw with a fast upper-cut; Shunsui was launched higher in the sky. Before anyone else could attack, Amagi sent a massive shockwave of reiatsu outward; blasting everyone backwards. He than used shunpo and appeared above Shunsui and swung his foot around kicking Shunsui in the chest with a loud bang; launching him again in another direction. He hurtled toward Orihime's house and in a matter of seconds blasted a hole in the roof, and entered out the side of the building before slamming into the street creating decent size crater.

As Captain Shunsui slammed into the ground, Byakuya made an attempt to attack Amagi but ultimately failed. He used shunpo to try to catch Amagi off guard but before he could attack, Byakuya was grabbed by the neck and was having his throat crushed. Toshiro saw what happened and in attempt to help Byakuya, Toshiro quickly got into position to activate his bankai.

Meanwhile back in the house, Rangiku looked up through the hole in the roof and, to her horror, she saw Amagi gripping Byakuya by the throat with one hand, and with the other, pointing his zanpakuto at Toshiro.

"This is what you really are, Amagi?" Rangiku said as tears began to build up in her eyes as she watched him.

"Don't you dare, shorty." Amagi said as he watched Toshiro out of the corner of his eye.

"What did you call me!" He yelled back in anger. Amagi just laughed in response.

"Ban-"But before Captain Hitsugaya could finish, Amagi threw Byakyua's limp body at him.

"NOOO!" Rangiku screamed from the rooftop. She made move to go interfere, but she felt a hand gently press down on her shoulders. She looked over and saw Captain Shunsui shaking his head at her, signaling her not to do what she is about to do.

"The man you love is no longer what you thought he was, or ever was." He said to her as he reached up with his other hand and tilted his straw hat.

At the same time, Toshiro dodged Byakuya's body, but before he could get his balance back, Amagi slashed him across the chest and, in a spray of warm blood; he began to fall out of the sky. He crashed into a building, causing it to collapse in on itself.

"Got you!" Kenpachi said as he lounged at Amagi who quickly swung is sword down, and with a loud clash, their zanpakuto's made contact.

"I dare you to remove you eye patch." Amagi said in a daring manner.

"You may have taken out the others with your fancy foot work, but I will destroy you with my eye patch still on!" Kenpachi laughed as he pushed Amagi back.

"Humph, suite yourself you fool." Amagi said as he shrugged his shoulders. Amagi than made a quickly jumped forward and swung his zanpakuto down, and once again, their zanpakutos clashed in a shower of sparks. But before Kenpachi could register what the sparks really were, he saw Amagi's zanpakuto slash into his abdomen. In a shower of blood, Kenpachi's vision narrowed as he cursed Amagi and fell backwards.

As Kenpachi began to fall, he looked over at his zanpakuto and to his surprise; part of the blade was missing. He looked up and saw the silver shimmer of the light reflecting off the blade as it spun in the air next to him.

"damn…" He murmured to himself as he slowly fell. Before he lost consciousness he saw a figure looking down on him and realized it wasn't Amagi, or anyone else he had known. It was a new figure, clad in white chainmail and part of his face was covered by a face guard. His long silver hair fluttered in the wind as he shook his head at Kenpachi. He blacked out right before his body slammed into the concrete with a loud bang.

Before Amagi could engage anyone still standing, he was engulfed in a flood of pink petals. Amagi smirked as his entire body was engulfed by the razor sharp blossoms. Byakuya softly sighed and relaxed but it was short lived. As the petals swirled around, they started to disintegrate and slow down in speed. Shocked, he did not know what was going on and didn't notice the sharp increase of Amagi's reiatsu, and in the matter of seconds, the remaining blossom petals were vaporized as there was a massive shockwave ejected out from where Amagi stood. Byakuya was slammed so hard by the shockwave that he flew backwards a good distance.

"Nice shikai Captain Byakuya." Amagi said sarcastically. As he said that he rose up his free hand and pointed his index finger at him. With another sharp increase of reiatsu, a black ball of reishi began to form at the tip of Amagi's finger.

"Is that… A… cero!" Byakuya asked as he stared directly at the steadily growing ball of reishi with a horrid look on his face

"Not quite," Amagi began , smirking a him "It's my bala." But before he could release it, a new voice broke through.

"Getsugo Tensho!"

Amagi looked over to see a large wave of reishi barreling towards him. Quickly, he pointed his bala at the new figure in defense. Before everyone's eyes a massive explosion lit up the sky and diffused into black particles.

As the smoke and dust cleared, Amagi was still standing where he was without a scratch on him.

Amagi looked up to see Ichigo Kurosaki standing there shocked to see his attack had failed.

"That the best you've got?" Amagi said smirking at Ichigo, who in return became red with anger. Before Ichigo could say anything Amagi disappeared and instantly was standing infront of him, holding his zanpakuto up to Ichigo's throat. Ichigo swung his zanpakuto around in random attack to force Amagi back. Amagi swapped it away and lounged at Ichigo. Swinging his led around and before Ichigo could react, slammed him in the arm, and with a loud pop, broke his arm as he was blasted into the side of a building. Amagi used his Sonikko Shunpo and appeared above Ichigo. Without warning Amagi brought his heel down on Ichigo who in turn, quickly rolled away to dodge the deadly kick.

"Even with that broken arm, you are still pretty fast." Amagi said to Ichigo.

"Screw you." Replied Ichigo angrily. Amagi laughed in a chilling manner as he slashed the air with his zanpakuto as he re-sheathed it. The buildings beneath him immediately disintegrated as the ground split open in a long shallow cut.

'What was that?' Ichigo thought to himself, 'what immense power…'

"Whats with that face Ichigo?" Amagi began as he put his hand behind his head, "You look scared."

"You wish." Ichigo said as he looked away in disgust. He was about to us shunpo and try to catch Amagi off guard but something interrupted him.

"That is enough." A voice said behind Amagi.

Not looking away from Ichigo, Amagi said, "Well, about time you showed up Urahara."


	10. ch 10 It only gets worse

Ch 10 It only gets worse

"Amagi, I think it is time you stop and think about what you are doing." Kisuke Urahara said as he looked through the shadow cast across his face made by his striped hat.

"Why would I need to stop and think about what I am doing, when I am fully aware of my plan?" Amagi replied as he slowly shifted unto his right leg. Noticing what Amagi was doing, Kisuke brought up his cane and drew his zanpakuto from it.

"If you don't want to talk right now, than just say it!" he said sarcastically as he pointed his now drawn sword at Amagi. 'Am I really about to fight him?' Kisuke thought to himself.

Amagi smirked at him as he said, "I know what you're thinking Kisuke. You may have helped me partially regain my Shinigami powers, but from that point until now it was all me. Though my little trick I was taught by an old friend," As soon as Amagi finished, he disappeared with a burst of reiatsu and instantaneously appeared next to Kisuke, catching him completely off guard.

Kisuke rose up his zanpakuto to block Amagi's initial punch, but he failed to notice Amagi swinging his foot around. The top of his foot landed a direct hit on Kisuke's side and, with a loud bang, was sent hurtling towards the ground. He quickly regained his footing and just in time. Amagi reappeared below Kisuke and was about to punch him. Kisuke quickly swung around and sliced open Amagi's fist. Amagi jumped back and watched the blood ooze out of the deep gash across his knuckles.

"Congratulations Kisuke, you are the first one who was able to injure me." Amagi said as he looked up and glared at him.

"Well thank you Amagi. I tried my hardest." Kisuke replied shrugging his shoulders and putting his hand behind his head.

Amagi's face became very serious as he told Kisuke, "You are not even trying. I know your fighting style and I understand your strength; what you are doing right now is only bidding your time."

"You may be right Amagi, but I am not going 'all out' because I want to see what you have truly become."

"Oh really, and what have I truly become?"

"You've become a monster." Kisuke said quietly as he looked down. His hat cast a shadow across his face, covering his facial expression. "I shouldn't have agreed to help you regain your powers. I shouldn't have even found you."

Only a few years after Amagi had been exiled, and meraculisly finding a zanpakuto, Urahara went searching for this young man. He saw much potential in this former student that he thought he could take him under his wing, finish his training so he could one day be part of his plan. Though once finding Amagi, and his training began, Urahara noticed something new, sinister and evil about him; though unable to get a grasp on what it could be, he continued training Amagi regaurdless. Until the day he ran. Even today that something still remains as he looks at his former student pleadingly.

"So what are you trying to tell me there Kisuke?" Amagi replied tilting his head back and looking up to the sky. 'Just tell me what I want to hear, you fool.' Amagi thought to himself.

"I regret everything I have done to help you. I should have seen what you would become once you regained your full powers."

Amagi looked down at Kisuke and gave a short chuckle, "sadly I haven't fully regained my shinigami powers. Something is holding me back that I cannot gain a foothold on." 'the fourth key, regret,' Amagi thought to himself as he smirked at Kisuke.

Back in Orihime's house, Rangiku, Orihime and Captain Shunsui Kyoraku walked up the stairs and opened the door to the roof of the house. Once they got the edge of the building, they looked out across the town and were shocked to see how much destruction had occurred.

"Is.. this all from Amagi?" Orihime asked, barely finding the words.

Shunsui reached up ato find that his straw hat had disapeared and replied, "You see how much of a monster that man has become?" He mainly directed the question to Rangiku, who, in return, did not say a word.

'Amagi… What caused you to fall so far?' Rangiku thought to her-self as tears began to fall from her cheeks.

The fighting between Kisuke Urahara and Amagi Mitsuko continued on for a while, only resulting in continued stalemates. They each lounged at eachother; Amagi trying to land a punch or a kick, with Urahara trying to cut him down.

"You know Kisuke, I am actually surprised you are fighting me without any of your simple tricks and traps." Amagi said as he touched the new bloody cut on his cheek. He licked the blood from his finger tips and grinned at Urahara.

"As well as I am surprised you haven't used your zanpakuto at all." Kisuke replied as he inspected his crushed hat. "What a waste of a good hat." He shrugged his shoulders as he put the hat back on. He was heavily bruised and some of his ribs were surely broken with a possibility that his left arm was dislocated.

"I am actually getting tired of this. It was fun while it lasted, but I am sorry Kisuke, this is where it ends for you." As Amagi finished he reached over to draw his zanpakuto but something caught his attention; a women had appeared behind him and swung her foot around. Amagi quickly reached out and caught it.

"I thought you were faster than this Yoruichi." Amagi said as he pulled her towards him. He than grabbed her by the throat and began to squeeze; giving her an evil smile as he did.

"ROAR ZABIMARU!"

A long blade extended from the ground and headed straight towards Amagi. He threw Yoruichi to the side and blocked the oncoming blade with his zanpakuto.

"Really?" Amagi began but before he could a new voice say, "Some no mai, Tsukishiro," and a pillar of light erupted from the ground underneath Amagi and headed straight towards him; It quickly incased him ice.

"About time you guys showed up! Shesh, I though I was going to be a goner there for a few." Kisuke said jokingly to Rukia Kuchiki and Renji Abarai. They than ran over to Yoruichi to check to see if she was ok.

"Nice one, Rukia." Yoruichi said as she stood up when they came over to her.

"It was nothing. Honestly!" Rukia said

"Hey I distracted him so you could do that! So I will take some credit on that as well." Renji demanded angrily to Yuroichi and Rukia.

"Don't get your hopes up just yet you two." Kisuke said in a distracted manner, "the ice won't hold him for very long." As he finished, they all heard a loud snap as the ice began to crack. Where Amagi stood began to glow as air around that area of ice began to spiral inwards. As the ice cracked even more, it began to disintegrate into reishi and was absorbed by Amagi. Within seconds a loud boom echoed through the sky as a massive shockwave of reiatsu erupted from Amagi. Large chunks of ice fell all around the Shinigami on the ground as the pillar crumbled.

"Thought it was that easy didn't you?" Amagi said sarcastically as he appeared behind them. They all jumped back in horror, waiting for him to swing his zanpakuto at them; which never came.

"You guys scare to easily." He told them.

"Kisuke was right; you have become nothing but a monster." Yoruichi said.

"So what if I have? Not much you can do about it now." Amagi said as he began walking over to where they had jumped to. "I may have not regained my shinigami powers, but I gained a power far greater."

"This is not how things were supposed to turn out." Yoruichi shook her head, "I thought if I took care of you while Kisuke trained you, you wouldn't have so much hatred."

"You think this is hatred? This nothing but the desire to see everything be destroyed." Amagi replied raising his arms up, "If I was denied becoming a Shinigami and banished to this world, than everything in it deserves to be destroyed."

"What you are telling us makes no sense. You said you are not fueled by hatred, and you know Aizen framed you, than why do you want everything destroyed?" Kisuke asked, trying to get a grasp on Amagi's motives, but no matter how he put it, it never made any sense.

"It is not supposed to make sense. I just feel the need to destroy everything, and everyone." Amagi said as his eyes slighty turned brighter and greener.

"Than all hope is lost on saving you." Yoruichi softly said as she looked down at the ground.

"Save me? Why would you still want to save me; a monster like myself?" Amagi asked, smirking at them.

"Because," Yoruichi looked up and looked Amagi in the eyes, "I still care for you as if you were my brother. I have always seen you as my brother since the first day we found you."

Some 40 years ago, Kisuke and Yoruichi were investigating an unusual reiatsu when they stumbled upon the source; a young man in an alley, scared and not understanding why his powers were returning as well as how he was able to finda zanpakuto. With out saying a word, Yoruichi had walked over and reached a hand out to the young man, who hesitated, but eventually reached up and grabbed her hand.

"Don't worry! My name is Yoruichi shihouin, and this is Kisuke Urahara." She explained with a smile.

"I'm Amagi Mitsuko, a student at the Shinigami Academy." He looked away and lowered his voice, "I mean 'former' student."

"Don't worry Amagi we will take care of you, ok?" Yoruichi sad smilling down at the young man.

"I can teach you how to TRUELY control your shinigami powers, and you can become the powerful shinigami I am sure you are meant to be." The man in the hat said standing beside the dark skinned woman.

"Come, we need to get going," Yoruichi esclaimed turning around, Kisuke followed suit, "are you coming are not Mitsuko?" Amagi still digesting what was going on jumped to his feet and smiled for the first time in a long while. eh was happy, someone there for him. He was no longer alone.

Back in the present situation Yoruichi shook her head, trying to forget the memory. Kisuke reached over and put his hand on her shoulder.

"I still care for you Amagi. I just can't stand seeing you like this." She softly said.

'Remorse, the tird key,' Amagi thought to himself.

"Well Yoruichi, I am sorry to cut this… reunion… short, but I should be going now; this is getting too boring and too emotional for me." Amagi turned around and began walking away, leaving everyone standing dumbfounded by Amagi's immediate change of actions.

"I don't think so!" Ichigo yelled suddenly as he dropped from the sky with his zanpakuto drawn back.

"Fool." Amagi said quietly as he grabbed the blade and dragged him closer. As he did, Amagi swung his elbow back which smacked Ichigo on the side of the head instantly knocking him unconscious.

"Didn't I just say I was done for now?" Amagi said angrily to Ichigo's limp body as it lay on the ground. He raised a hand back and waved as he vanished.

He instantaneously reappeared in front of Rangiku, Orihime and captain Shunsui as they watched the events unfold on the roof of Orihime's house. Before Shunsui could react, Amagi drew his sword and slashed the captain across the chest, spraying blood everywhere. Orihime screamed and Rangiku reached for her zanpakuto and realized it was still in the house.

"You two are coming with me." Amagi said as he grabbed Rangiku by the arm and Orihime by the face, covering her mouth so she could not say a word; preventing her from activating her powers. They fought to break his grip, but to no luck.

"See you guys around! Just remember; it only gets worse!" Amagi yelled to the rest of them as he lifted up Rangiku, and Orihime. He smirked as he used Sonikku Shunpo and disappeared; disintegrating the house as a shockwave of reiatsu blasted from where Amagi stood, just seconds before.


	11. Ch 11 Held Hostage!

Ch 11 Held Hostage!

"This is getting pathetic." Renji Abarai said as he leaned back against a wall of Kisuke Urahara's shop.

"Stop complaining Free-loader and get back to work!" Jinta Hanakari yelled as he threw a box at Renji from the truck that Jinta was in.

"I don't care how old you are! I'm going to punch you in the face!" Renji yelled back raising a fist at Jinta.

"Now you two, I know all this searching for Ms. Matsumoto and Ms. Inue has become tiresome, but we can't give up on those them." Kisuke said walking out from the shop waving his hand to get them to stop. 'I just hope Amagi hasn't done anything to them.' He thought to himself as he turned to walk back inside, leaving Renji and Jinta glaring at each other angrily.

Kisuke walked into the living room to see Ichigo, Rukia, Chad, Uryuu, Yoruichi, Captain Byakuya, Captain Shunsui, Vice-captain Hasagi, Vice-captain Yachiru, and Vice-captain Kira sitting in every available space in the room. Kisuke shook his head as he stood in the door way, "Well I see everyone is here ('what a surprise..' He thought to himself as he spoke), and I am guessing no one was able to find any trace of either of them?" Ichigo glared as the rest sadly shook their head 'no.'"I see, that is highly unfortunate." He quietly said.

"It has been three days since Amagi kidnapped them!" Ichigo said angrily, "We can't give up yet!"

"From what I can guess from Amagi, he probably is trying to get us to provoke him first so he can finish what he started." Uryuu said as he peered over into the next room where Captain Toshiro and Captain Kenpachi's unconscious bodies lay; slowly healing.

"Kenny…" Yachiru said as she sat there worrying about what is going to happen to Kenpachi.

"Don't worry," Yoruichi said to her as she placed her hand on Yachiru's shoulder, "I'm sure he will be fine." In truth everyone was worried about the two captains because the injuries they sustained from Amagi and the immense dark reiatsu that still remained in their wounds even though they had mostly healed. Yachiru nodded in acceptance of Yoruichi's kind words.

"I have no idea what that man is planning, and it is a pain in the ass just waiting for him to strike again." Ichigo said in anger, slamming his fist down on the table, sending a few cups of tea flying through the air.

"Ichigo, you need to learn to control you anger," Rukia began, "you have always been so easily angered and by the way you are talking, I presume you hate Amagi now?"

"You have no idea." He said as he sat back and folded his arms. 'Orihime, I am sorry I failed to protect you from that monster, and I swear he will pay,' he thought to himself as he closed his eyes.

"I have a question," Vice-captain Hasagi said, quickly changing the subject, "Did anyone notice that Amagi's zanpakuto had an unusual aura about it? I know I never made contact with it, but just looking at it, I felt something was weird and obscure about it."

"There was no aura, no signs of life that was being given off by it." Captain Byakuya said through closed eyes, "it even felt like everything around it was being pulled in; reishi and all."

Everyone looked at Byakuya. His entering of the conversation was out of no where, and what he said only further made them worry, "I believe his zanpakuto and he feeds off the emotions that we put out when he is around."

"This is not a man we can take lightly." Kisuke said quietly as more worried looks shot around the room. "For now, let's rest so we can begin looking for where ever Amagi took Orihime and Rangiku."

Meanwhile off in an unknown location in a dark room, Orihime and Rangiku sat; hands tied behind their backs, wearing badly torn clothes that Amagi had got them. The clothes were from Orihime's destroyed house, and were torn and shredded with the destruction of the house. The only light emanating in the room were two small barred windows high up on the wall, showing that they were in a basement.

'Amagi… you monster, what caused you to become like this?' Rangiku thought to herself as she struggled to look back at the stairs leading up to a large door; their only way of getting out. She shifted uneasily from one knee to the next. They were tied down to a large bar that sat in the middle of the room and were forced to sit there on their knees until Amagi returns. She was freezing cold due to the stone floors and the many tears on her tattered clothes.

Orihime began to cry; Rangiku leaned over as much as she could as whispered into Orihime's ear, "Don't worry Rangiku, Ichigo and the others will find us and defeat Amagi." Orihimi looked up at her with tear filled eyes.

"I sure hope so," she began, "I just hope they find us soon, I'm afraid of what Amagi will do once he returns." Orihime's voice trailed off. The day before Amagi had brought them what little clothes he could find, and threatened them with their lives if they tried to escape or resisted him.

"He hasn't done anything… yet, so I am sure he was only saying that to scare us." Rangiku tried to comfort Orihime, but she knew it wouldn't work; Amagi truly was a monster and it seemed nothing could stop him. The two of them sat in silence thinking about what is a possibility of what could happen next.

After what seemed like an eternity, Rangiku broke the silence, "everything will be ok, I am sure of it. I have to find a way of saving Amagi." She tilted her head up as tears slide down her cheeks.

"What do you mean, Rangiku?" Orihime asked, not sure of what she was talking about. Rangiku than looked down at Orihime and smiled at her.

"I will tell you what I mean." Rangiku said as Orihime stared at her through the dim lighting of the windows with a puzzled look.

"The others will find us I am sure of it. But this man, this monster, I refuse to believe that he is Amagi. If he is, than there is something controlling him."

"Even if there was something controlling Amagi that still doesn't give him the right to get away with what he has done. You saw what he did to your captain! He nearly cut Kenpachi in half!" Orihime explained to Rangiku as she tried to figure out why Rangiku would still try and save him.

"I know what he has done is unforgivable, but we can't just punish a man whose actions where not out of his own free will." Rangiku than looked away and looked at the ground, still holding onto the hope that Amagi can be saved from what he has become. Orihime sat there still looking at Rangiku, 'How could you still love the man who kidnapped you, threatened to kill you, and nearly killed all your friends? Rangiku… Rangiku please be careful,' she thought to herself.

Hours later, the two of them heard a loud clank as the lock on the door began to turn. Moments passed as the door slowly swung open with. A large figure appeared in the bright doorway as it walked into the room.

"Hello you two, I see you have not tried to escape," The figure said as the door closed with a slam. "You both have been very good." As their eyes adjusted to the dim lighting again, they saw that Amagi had returned with a few plastic bags. Amagi set them down on a table that was unseen in the darkest corner of the room. Rangiku and Orihime watched Amagi as he walked around the room towards them. He put his hand underneath their chins and tilted their heads up as he kneeled in front of them.

Amagi smirked as Orihime tried to move her head away from his hand and Rangiku just glared at him and made no effort to break his grip.

"Orihime, don't be frightened, I don't bit. Hard." Amagi said as he tightened his grip on her chin and turned her head to face him. Even with her being face to face with Amagi, she never looked him in the eye; she kept looking over at Rangiku.

"Amagi, just let her go." Rangiku objected as she tried to break free from her restraints. Amagi glared at her, but Rangiku did not take notice. He put his attention back on Orihime, who made an effort to keep staring at one section of the wall, no matter how hard Amagi tried to move her head so she looked him in the eyes.

"You don't scare me!" Orihime suddenly said glaring at Amagi through heavy tears. Before she could realize what happened, she found her self lifted off the ground and hastily slammed against the nearest wall.

"Well I think I should change that!" Amagi said has he clenched Orihime around the neck and pressed his body against hers, pinning her against the wall even more. He chuckled as he felt her shaking.

"If you are not afraid of me, than why are you trembling?"

"AMAGI!" Rangiku screamed in response to what had just happened. Orihime was overtaken with shock and fear to say a word; she could only stand there, pinned against the wall and cry.

"STOP IT!" Rangiku yelled in terror. She pulled at the restraints but to no prevail; they would not break.

Amagi leaned forward, and whispered into Orihime's ear, "Just tell me the truth and I will let you go with out harming you further." Orihime closed her eyes and waited for something, anything to happen; she still wasn't able to gather the strength to tell him how scared she was.

"Please stop, I'm sorry!" She finally stuttered after a few moments. Amagi let go of her neck and stepped back, letting her fall to the ground. "I'm so scared, just looking at you makes me fear for my life." She murmured as she sat up and wrapped her arms around her legs; tears flowed down her cheeks as she buried her face in her arms.

"Now, was that too hard to admit?" Amagi said staring down at her. His sarcastic, joking manner seemed to have left only leaving a bitter, evil sense to him. 'There is the fifth key' he thought to himself. After a few seconds, Amagi looked aver at Rangiku who sat on the floor and stared at him with a sad, worried look.

"Sorry Rangiku, if you still think that I need saving than there is only one way and I think you know what it is." He said to her as he turned and faced the door. Her eyes followed him as he stopped just feet from the doorway.

"Than I guess there is no way than, I should just accept that the man standing in front of me really is you Amagi." She said not looking away, "Than can I ask you a question?"

"Ask away." Amagi replied looking over his shoulder at her.

"What is your purpose than? I mean, how come you haven't just destroyed everything yet, because you have shown that no one can stop you." She asked demandingly. Amagi sighed as he turned halfway around to face her.

"There are six keys that need to be activated, to unlock the final seventh key. These keys are not physical items, they are emotional actions." He replied closing his eyes.

"What do you mean?" She asked confused to what he meant.

He pointed at her.

"The first key is Love."

He Pointed at Orihime.

"The fifth key is Fear."

"What about the other ones?" She asked quickly.

"The other keys will come to light when the time is right." He replied, once again turning around and started heading towards the door.

"What will happen once the seventh key has been shown?" Rangiku called out to him.

"The end of what you see before you." Amagi replied shaking his head for he knew she thought that he meant the World and everything in it. He knew the truth of what would happen, and that is how he wanted it to be; it was best that they did not know what else was out there more powerful than he was. With his last thought he opened the door and stepped through it. He looked back one final time as he disappeared, leaving the door open behind him.

As Amagi was in the room talking with Rangiku, a dimensional tear opened up along a street somewhere deep in Karakura Town. The tear revealed a small, frail looking young man holding a sword that was twice his length.

"Amagi Mitsuko, you pathetic bastard, the Boss sent out a newbie to finish off what you couldn't do. How pathetic is that." He laughed as he stepped out from the tear and onto the street. He turned around to face a small shop that was owned by Kisuke Urahara.


	12. Ch 12 A New Enemy on Their Way?

**Ch. 12 A new enemy on their way?**

"Hello in there! Come out and play, there is someone here who wants to meet you all!" The small frail looking young man said as he walked up to the front door of the shop. He stood in front of the door, only getting irritated as no one came to the door, or even made a sound.

"I can feel your reiatsu in there, so you either come out or I am going in, and if I do, I won't be very nice." He said, lowering his head in frustration. After a few moments he adjusted the weight of his sword from one shoulder to the next.

"That does it!"

He swung his sword down, slashing the air and created a shockwave that slammed into the shop; disintegrating the walls.

"What the hell! No one is in there." He said as he stepped over a few beams that were snapped in two. He followed where he sensed the reiatsu until he came to an opening that leads into what looked like the cellar.

"Curious, very curious." He murmured to himself as he poked his head down through the opening and saw that it lead into a gigantic open space. As he did he noticed a young boy running up the stairs toward him.

"Who the hell are you?" The man asked as Jinta swung his fist back but was caught by the man. He held Jinta up by his arm.

"Put the kid down, and explain tome why you destroyed my shop!" Kisuke asked surprised to return to see his shop destroyed.

"You must be Kisuke Urahara." The man said as he tossed Jinta to the side like a doll. He took a step towards Kisuke but stopped as he realized more Shinigami had surrounded him. Upon realizing he was surrounded, he closed his eyes and smiled.

"This should be very fun." He said as he held his massive sword in an attack stance. His sword was nearly 6 feet long from the one tip of the pearl white blade to the next. His sword was strapped to his arm by a long silk like thread to help balance the weight of the dual blades. He began to lean forward on his toes, but before he could make a move, the back of his head was grabbed by a large hand; he was slammed into the ground face first.

"What the hell do you think you are doing here, Shubaki?" Amagi asked as he kneeled over him and lifted the young mans bleeding face out of the rubble by his short black hair.

"Screw you Amagi." Shubaki spat as he swung his elbow back hitting Amagi in the shoulder. Amagi stood up and rubbed his shoulder as he let him get to his feet.

"I am nearly here to finish off what you should have done already."

"Oh really? Does he not have any patience for matters like this?"

"The Boss is growing extremely tired of your games Amagi. He sent me to either encourage you to finish it, or have me finish it and than to finish you off." Shubaki glared at Amagi, "You are pathetic Amagi; I thought you would have been happy for me to finish them off right here and now."

"Either go be a good messenger boy and let him know it will be done, or I will just send him the message myself as I cut you to pieces." Amagi said in frustration.

"So pathetic," Shubaki said shaking his head at Amagi, "I'm not going back unless they are all dead, or you are. Or hell even all of you are dead. Either way, you and them both loose." As he finished he rose up his sword and rested it on his shoulder. Amagi smirked he watched Shubaki change his stance. The shinigami did not know what to do so they jumped back a good distance to watch what is about to happen.

"I will make this quick and painless as possible Amagi. We all know how weak you truly are." Shubaki said as he swung his sword in front of him to face Amagi; who in turn stood there and smiled back at him.

"You and your damn smile, it pisses me off!" He lunged at Amagi and swung his sword with all his strength. Amagi grabbed the sword as it came close to striking him, as he grabbed it he thrusted the sword behind him which ripped it from Shubaki's grip.

"And you call me weak? You are the one who is weak." Amagi stated as he grabbed Shubaki by the face and slammed him backwards into the ground.

"It is over for you Shubaki, I will show you how strong I truely am."

"NO WAIT!" Shubaki screamed as Amagi lifted his fist in the air which a large amount of reishi began to be absorbed causing his fist to glow a deep blue.

"Remember what we were taught: Have no mercy, show no mercy, receive no mercy." Amagi said in a rehersed manner as he slammed his fist down on Shubaki. The ground around them instantly vaporized and disappeared in a massive explosion. The street split and fissured in all directions from the force of the impact.

"Amagi, that fool." A large man said as he sat up straight with his arms folded about his chest. He kept his head level but was looking down at the ground which was a massive viewing screen. He watched the dust settle and saw Amagi standing in the crater he had formed Shubaki's lifeless, and headless corpse lay deafeated in the rubble.

"Toshina, looks like we will have to deal with him our selves, he has shown us he is not with our cause." The man said as another walked forward out of the shadows of the large corridor.

"Tsk Tsk, Mitsu has outdone himself this time, going and killing off one of his own comrades. What a shame. Don't you agree Master Aku?" Toshina said as he stood next to the large chair with his face in his hand, shaking his head in frustration.

"Since Amagi has shown us what I have expected, he must be punished." Aku said as he placed his hands on the ends of the arm rest and pushed himself up out of the chair; showing his large muscular frame, despite being of old age.

"How do you suppose we go and do that?" Toshina asked looking up at Aku.

"The same way we punished Nia; we kill him." He said as he stepped down from the platform that the chair rested on. He began walking down the long, high ceilinged corridor towards a massive stone door. Toshina also followed a few paces behind Aku as the walked.

"This should be an interesting fight, don't you agree Toshina?" Aku asked, not looking back at his subject. Toshina didn't say a word but Aku knew what he was thinking, which cause Aku to smirk as he stepped into the shadow of the door.

As the dust settle around him, Amagi looked up at the buildings around him and saw all the Shinigami standing on the roofs-tops. He did not move or make a sound as he locked eyes with Kisuke Urahara with a blank empty stare, his eyes glowing a bright green.

"Something is different about him. His reiatsu has a weird feeling to it." Yuroichi said as she stood on the ledge of a small apartment building.

"His eyes…" Kisuke began but couldn't finish as the ground around Amagi began to crack and chunks of rocks along with any loose object started to lift off the ground. Without warning all the objects that were airborne swirled around Amagi.

"Lets do this!" Renji Abarai said as he jumped from the top of the building and drew his zanpakuto.

"Growl, Zabimaru!" His blade extended as it shot out towards Amagi. He made no effort to move, or dodge as Renji's blade slammed into the ground just inches from him. Renji retracted his zanpakuto with a loud crunching noise as it dug into the concrete of the street. As the blade retracted Renji stared at Amagi, who stared back with a blank expression on his face.

'What's wrong with this guy?' Renji thought as he swung his zanpakuto around. The segments stretched as it once again hurtled toward Amagi, who this time, grabbed the sharp part of the blade with his bare hands.

"That's all you got?" Amagi asked in a monotone voice, catching Renji off guard with the different sense about him. Amagi began to squeeze his hand around the blade, cracking the hard metal.


	13. Ch 13 ViceCaptains Fight on!

**CH.13 Vice-captains fight on!**

Amagi stared blankly at Renji as he tried to free his zanpakuto from being crushed by Amagi's tightening grip. After a short struggle and a major crack down the blade, Renji was finally able to free his zanpakuto but quickly realized Amagi had released it.

"That's it you bastard!" Renji yelled as he inspected the crack on his zanpakuto, he than took an offensive stance, "BANKAI!"

A shockwave of reiatsu blasted from where Renji was standing. This shockwave kicked up a huge dust cloud obscuring everyone's view of him. Within seconds a large skeleton snake head with a red mane erupted out of the dust cloud and launched itself in Amagi's direction. He closed his eyes as he raised up his hand to block the initial impact of the snake's head. All the skeletal joints buckled and clamped together in the strain of pushing Amagi back, or even making him lose balance.

"Your attacks are useless vice-captain Renji Abarai." Amagi said as he opened his eyes and blankly stared at Renji, whom looked away from him trying not to make eye contact.

Amagi reflected the massive head which slammed into the ground with great force, burying it deep in the concrete of the street. Before Amagi could move forward, the air became unusually cold and a ring appeared around him.

Amagi again closed his eyes and shock his head, "This trick again?" He said in a monotone voice, "how pathetic." As he finished, a pillar of ice blasted around him trapping him inside.

"He is right though, we know this won't work." Rukia said as she stepped next to Renji.

"Yeah I know but it will slow him dow-"Renji began but was interrupted by a beam of light that blasted it's way out of the ice and hurtled directly towards the two.

"Got it!" Hasagi said as he jumped in front of the beam and split it in two with his zanpakuto. The two split beams exploded as they slammed into the ground harmlessly behind Renji and Rukia.

"What are you doing Hasagi?" Rukia yelled as he turned to look at them. With his guard down, he failed to notice Amagi had appeared right behind him.

"You shouldn't let your guard down like this." Amagi said as leaned close to Vice-Captain Hasagi. His eyes grew wide as he slowly turned around to face Amagi. When he realized how close he was, Hasagi took a swing at Amagi and jumped out of his reach. Amagi just shook his head as watched him.

"You all serve no purpose for me, so I think it would be best if you leave." Amagi said

"I don't think that is going to happen." Renji said as he flicked his wrist and his bankai lifted off the ground and hurtled for Amagi. Right at the last second, the spine joints of the snake began to snap together and straighten, "Hikotsu Taiho!" Renji as the last joint snapped together, the head twisted and a large red beam shot out of its mouth.

Amagi stood there with his hands in the pocket of his large black cloak he was wearing. He did not flinch nor move when the beam stopped just inches from him and ricocheted straight into the ground below him.

"What the hell just happened!" Hasagi said as they all stared wide eyed at what just happened in front of him.

Off in the distance Urahar Kisuke, Yuroichi Shihouin, and Ichigo Kurosaki stood watching the Vice-Captains keep Amagi's attention on them. They too watched with wide eyed at how insanely power Amagi was.

"His reiatsu is different." Urahara said as a gust of wind blew past him, "And his movements are terrifyingly fast. This man is different from the one we encountered just days before."

"I could barely register his hand moving to block Renji's attack, I doubt they saw him even twitch." Yuroichi said as she put her arm around her waist and held back her hair from the wind with the other. Ichigo did not say a word but they both knew he was getting uneasy.

"Don't worry Ichigo, you will do fine." Yuroichi smiled reassuringly as Ichigo looked over at her.

"I'm not worried about that, I wonder if Orihime and Rangiku are ok." He said looking back at the dust rising from the explosion.

"I'm sure they are fine Ichigo, don't worry about anything." Urahara said as he put his hand on the lip of his hat to prevent it from being blown away.

"Where did he go?" Rukia asked as Amagi disappeared into the rising cloud of dust.

"Don't know, but we can't follow him in there!" Renji replied.

With in seconds the wind died away. They all stood and looked at each other not knowing what was going on.

"Hey sorry I am late! Where is Amagi?" Vice-captain Kira Izuru said looking around as he appeared next to Renji and Rukia.

"Don't Kno-" Hasagi began but was interrupted by a blast of reiatsu emanating from within the cloud of dust. As it blasted outward it began to swirl around picking up any loose gravel and object, and made into a small projectile as it swirled outward.

"What the hell?" Renji tried to yell over the sound of the wind. Before anyone could say anything else, they all dropped to their knees and struggled to stand up as the reiatsu emanating from the dust cloud grew in density. The buildings in the immediate area began to crumble and disintegrate and one by one the Vice-captains began to loose consciousness. This reiatsu grew so dense and intense that Ichigo and the others had difficulty keeping balance.

As quickly as the reiatsu appeared, it vanished.

"What the hell was that? Was that Amagi?" Ichigo said as he turned to Urahara.

"I believe so, but we must quickly get over there and check on the Vice-Captains, I do not know how well they withstood being so close to that reiatsu." Urahara said as he began running towards the epicenter. He was alone; the other captains stopped what they were doing and quickly began to follow pursuit. When they arrived they were shocked to see Vice-captain Kira, Renji and Hasagi back on their feet and fighting with Amagi.

Where Amagi stood, large cracks and spiral markings eradiated outward. There were no standing buildings within a few square kilometers around him.

"I'm surprised that you three are already standing up. I thought I would have enough time to slip past." Amagi said as he looked at the three Vice-Captains who quickly encircled him.

"Don't underestimate us! We are stronger than we look you fool!" Renji said smugly.

"Shut up Renji! Don't get to cocky here; there is no room for error now." Kira said as sweat ran down the side of his face. _We can't let him through until we are given the go ahead. _Kira thought as he looked back at Amagi standing before them.

"Kira is right Renji, we must also fight as a team still and we do not need distractions." Hasagi said. All three looked from one another and nodded.

"Omote O Agero Wabisuke!" Kira yelled as he lounged at Amagi stepped forward and blocked his initial attack. As he did Renji flicked his wrist and his snake like bankai, dropped down on him, slamming him into the ground. Renji than pulled his zanpakuto back and Hasagi flung his double sided zanpakuto into the newly formed dust cloud. When he tried to bring his zanpakuto back, Amagi reached out from within the dust cloud and grabbed the chain.

"Shit!" Hasagi yelled as Amagi yanked back on the chain connecting the two blades together. Amagi had pulled back so hard; Hasagi lost balance and felt him-self flying towards the dust cloud. As he grew closer, Amagi's hand once again reached out from the settling dust cloud. This time he grabbed Hasagi by the back of the head, and smashed his face into the ground. Hasagi's body went limp as Kira made another attempt to attack Amagi from behind. Amagi never turned to face Kira, but instead quickly swung his elbow back, making contact with Kira's chest which blasted him backwards a great distance. Amagi looked at Renji who quickly got in a defensive stance.

"I will warn you one more time; leave or I will kill you." Renji was taken-aback when he heard those words.

"I'm not going anywhere, so I guess you will have to kill me." Renji said as he looked back at where the Captains were as they quickly were trying to get to him as fast as they could. _Hurry up you bastards; I'm not going to die by the hands of this monster! _He thought to himself as more sweat began to fall down his face.


	14. Ch 14 What is the Truth?

**Ch. 14 What is the Truth?**

Renji Abarai stared at Amagi Mitsuko with a worried look strewn across his face. _I can't give up just yet, _Renji thought to himself. After a few moments of either of them not moving, Amagi took a step forward which caused Renji to react violently.

"No need to be jumpy." Amagi said in a monotone voice as Renji flicked his wrist and the massive skeletal serpent lurched forward and dug its head into the ground as it headed straight at Amagi.

At the last second, the head lifted up out of the ground, hissed as it opened its mouth and slammed into Amagi. A large cloud of dust arose from the impact, but soon after it began to spin around as a large dark blue and black beam erupted and shot skyward; it created a large explosion and large chunks of the snake skull blasted out from the epicenter. As the chunks began to fall back down, the spin of the zanpakuto became limp and crashed into the ground.

Instantly Amagi sprinted down the falling spines headed towards Renji as he stood defenseless. He closed his eyes waiting for Amagi's zanpakuto to pierce his back as Amagi jumped into the air and landed behind Renji. But it never came; instead he was confronted by a huge blast of rock and debris. Renji slowly opened his eyes and turned around to see a 'V' shaped split in the ground around him. He than looked up and say Captain Byuakuya Kuchiki standing at the tip of the 'V' fissure.

"Captain, your arm!" Renji said suddenly as he noticed Buyakuya's arm had been cut off and blood was dripping out of the missing limb onto the street.

"Don't worry about me Renji," Buyakuya said, "Get back."

"But Captain…" Renji began

"I said get back." Buyakuya interrupted fiercely.

Renji retracted his zanpakuto as it converted back to its sealed form. Both Renji and Buyakuya looked at Amagi as he flicked his sword, splattering the blood on it all over the ground; Amagi than proceeded to sheath his zanpakuto as he closed his eyes.

"Buyakuya, your presence is not welcomed, so I recommend that you take Renji there and leave before you get yourself killed." Amagi said as he opened his eyes and turned around to walk away from them.

Buyakuya quickly and silently released his zanpakuto. Instantly a huge cloud of pink petals swirled around him. Amagi stopped and, with closed eyes, tilted his head back as he was suddenly entombed in the large cloud.

"Renji, run," Buyakuya said suddenly, "Warn the others that he will be there soon." But before Renji could acknowledge the order, the petals that surrounded Amagi suddenly began to disintegrate and the particles were dragged into where Amagi stood.

"What the-" Renji began.

"GO! NOW!" Buyakuya turned and yelled.

As Buyakuya said that, a surge of reiatsu blasted out from within the cloud of disintegrating petals. Both Renji and him were overwhelmed with the density of the reiatsu that neither of them could move. Renji fell to as his knees as he looked up to see Buyakuya cough blood. Amagi had used his Sonikku Shunpo and punched his fist through Buyakuya's torso.

Amagi leaned forward and whispered into Buyakuya's ear, "I warned you." Amagi slowly pulled out his arm from Buyakuya's torso causing him to scream in pain. As soon as Amagi's hand was free, he pushed Buyakuya's limp body forward onto Renji who caught him.

"Renji Abarai, take him and tell Ichigo Kurosaki I will be waiting for him here." Renji nodded to Amagi's request, "Oh, and tell anyone else who shows up before Ichigo will be killed."

Amagi watched as Renji hastily threw the Captain's lifeless body over his shoulder and begin to run in the direction of where the others waited.

"The time has come to end this." Amagi thought aloud as he reached up and slowly wiped blood from a deep gash he had received on his right cheek. "Pain; it's the closest thing I can get to an emotion." As he said that he raised his head and looked up at the passing clouds as the sun began to rise.

"Orihime! Wake up, we got to go! Amagi must of left the door open before he left!" Rangiku Matsimoto said loudly as she stood up from sitting on the cold concrete floor of the basement they were in. She nudged Orihime who gorgily opened her eyes.

"Huh? Tell them what?" Orihime said softly as she sat up and looked around the room. Their restraints were gone.

"We must tell them about the keys Amagi was talking about, and also to tell them that I don't think he is going to destroy the world."

"What makes you say that Rangiku?"

"Something about what how he said 'The end of what you see before you,' doesn't make sense."

"Still holding on to that hope… Don't forget what he did!" Orihime said as she buried her face in her hands.

"I know… But we have to see what is going on. I feel Amagi's reiatsu and it is different from before," Rangiku said as she looked towards the light coming from the open door. _I MUST know what is going on, this IS Amagi's reiatsu but something is not right about it. _Rangiku thought to herself. She could never forget Amagi's reiatsu but something was odd about it now, it was more dense and menacing.

"Well than let's go, I wanna see Amagi getting his ass kicked!" Orihime said as she stood up and reached a hand out to Rangiku to help her up. She nodded and took Orihime's hand and the two walked through the door. After their eyes adjusted to the sunlight, they found themselves in a forest outside Karakura Town. They looked back to see that the door was no longer there, actually, there was no building to begin with.

"Our cloths!" Orihime said suddenly.

"Your right, they are back to normal!" Rangiku said as she looked up at Orihime.

"But… How? This doesn't make sense!"

"Maybe," She began thoughtfully, "maybe everything that happened in that room was just a trick, like Amagi wanted us to think that happened but in reality it never did." Rangiku said as she squatted down and picked up a canister that gave off a trace of reiatsu off the ground. Orihime squatted down as well and stared wide eyed at as the reiatsu was very peculiar.

"So it was like in one of those alien movies where they implant events into peoples minds so they think it is true?" Orihime said in wonder. Rangiku looked at her confused.

"Um, sure, but let's go Orihime." Rangiku said changing the subject, Orihime nodded and stood up.

Amagi sat down on the ground and crossed his legs. _Two more keys to be presented and than the final one can be revealed. Soon everything will be the way it should be, and I can finally - _But before Amagi could finish his thought something caught his attention.

"I wouldn't do that if I were you, Kenpachi Zaraki."

"Thought I was going to be able to sneak up on you, but I should have known better." Captain Kenpachi Zaraki said as he leaned back and rested the blunt side of his zanpakuto on his shoulder.

"If you are here to fight, I must warn you," Amagi slowly pulled out his zanpakuto from it's sheath and stood up," I am no longer going to spare your life." Amagi than looked over his shoulder at Kenpachi.

"That is fine by me because I am going to finish what we started and get my revenge for trying to kill me the first time." Kenpach said as he lowered his zanpakuto.

"Get your revenge you say?" Amagi asked in monotone.

"What, are you deaf? Yes, I am going to get my revenge!" Kenpachi said

"That settles it, revenge the fifth key. One more to go."

"Wait, what?" But before Kenpachi could get an answer Amagi disappeared.

Within seconds Amagi appeared behind Kenpachi and swiftly swung his zanpakuto. Kenpachi was caught off guard and looked behind his shoulder wide eyed as he saw Amagi's zanpakuto get closer.


	15. Ch 15 Kenpachi's Revenge

**Ch 15 Kenpachi's Revenge**

Captain Kenpachi Zaraki jumped back barely dodging Amagi's attack, but the force behind the swing was enough to tear at Kenpachi's kimono and send him sliding backwards. He quickly regained his footing and lunged at Amagi who, in return, just reflected the attack and kneed him in the stomach.

Kenpachi smiled as he stood up, "I forgot how fast you were," he spat some blood from his mouth, "so this should be fun,"

"Fun. So, how do you call about to die being fun?" Amagi asked with the monotone voice and his blank stare. Kenpachi's grin disappeared as he stood with his sword by his side. Kenpachi replied to Amagi's remark by quickly lunging at him with as much strength as he could muster. The moment before Kenpachi was to reach him; Amagi took a step forward and brought his zanpakuto down on kenpachi. The force of their blades contacting created a massive shockwave and blasted a crater into the already decimated town. Before the dust could settle, the two began a long chain of severely aggressive attacks, and counter-attacks.

Kenpachi brought his zanpakuto around, slicing a hole in the dust cloud. Amagi blocked Kenpachi's attack with his own zanpakuto but was not expecting it to be followed by a massive fist. The fist landed square on Amagi's chest pushing him back a few feet outside of the still lingering dust cloud. Amagi looked up and smiled as he saw the unfocused shadow of Kenpachi standing amongst the dust. As Amagi began to walk back towards the shadow, it disappeared. Soon after a figure appeared above him with a sword held high above its head. As the figure came down, Amagi brought his zanpakuto up to block the attack, but instead of blocking it, he dodged it and brought his left foot around, nailing Kenpachi in the side, which in turn, sent him hurtling into the ground some distance away.

Kenpachi stood up out of the rubble and meagerly stared at Amagi.

"If you are trying to kill me, you will have to do better than that!" Kenpachi chuckled as he rested his sword against his shoulder. Amagi did not say a word, but returned Kenpachi's stare. A light breeze blew past picking up some loose dirt and pelted any and all exposed skin.

Instantly Amagi disappeared and re-appeared next to Kenpachi and casually swung his sword. Kenpachi quickly ducked and tried to counter the attack but was only met by a savage kick to the side. Again Kenpachi was hurtled a good distance away but this time Amagi followed. Kenpachi skipped once and was met by a tremendous downward punch by Amagi; his fist contacted dead center on his forehead, forcing his head into the ground. A small impact crater formed around Kenpachi's head as it went a few feet into the ground.

Amagi stood up and anticipated a random swipe of Kenpachi's zanpakuto towards his legs. Without even flinching Amagi jumped into the air and jolted forward with his feet in front of him about to pounce on Kenpachi who still lay on the ground motionless other than his arm and zanpakuto. But the moment before Amagi was about to drop down on him with tremendous force, Kenpachi rolled and thrust his sharp sword into the air hoping to catch Amagi on it. Amagi only backhanded the sword to the side and slammed into the ground creating, once again, a large cloud of debris.

"You and you simple tricks Amagi are getting annoying." Kenpachi said with growing irritation

"So be it," Amagi began, "but I am growing tiresome of your continuous effort to try and defeat me. I believe we both know that it will not happen."

Taken aback, Kenpachi replied, "It is not a matter of how, but when. If I don't kill you, that there are others who would surely try with everything they have."

"You're implying that you agree and cannot kill me?"

"Not what I was saying! If I die doing what I do best, there are others who would surely enjoy taking my place!" Kenpachi yelled

"So, you just agreed that you cannot kill me." Amagi said casually. As soon as he said that, Kenpachi lunged out of the debris cloud and swung with all his strength. Yelling as his zanpakuto came around, it was easily blocked by Amagi who only lifted up his sword at the last possible moment.

"Just turn around and walk away and I will spare your life." Amagi offered as the two pushed against the contacted swords. The growing pressure created more and more sparks as both swords began to strain under the immense reiatsu being released. Kenpachi only shook his head in defiance sealing his first answer.

"That answers my question than." Amagi said as he pushed even harder against Kenpachi's zanpakuto until he heard the telltale cracking of metal. Kenpachi quickly looked down and with a frightened expression, jumped back the instant it shattered into many jagged pieces.

"Shit, not again." Kenpachi whispered as he landed on solid ground and looked and the only remaining chunk of his zanpakuto. He tilted it to the side examining the hilt and the 3 inch jagged piece still attached to the hilt. He casually put the chunk into his belt and stood glaring at Amagi as he slowly lowered himself in front of Kenpachi.

"That looks to be the end of your zanpakuto," Amagi said pointing to the hilt sticking out from the belt, "just to be fair I will put mine away and we fight hand to hand."

Kenpachi did not say a word but he knew fighting hand to hand was only asking to die quicker, for it, from what he saw, was Amagi's strong point; close quarters contact to deploy his deadly kicks. He watched as Amagi sheathed his zanpakuto and stood with his hand resting on the butt of the hilt, staring blankly into Kenpachi's eyes. Shuddering Kenpachi realized that he had to do what he could to hold off Amagi just a little bit longer, just until someone else arrives to help fight. Or even to pull his lifeless body away from the fight.

"Want to take the first blow?" Amagi asked.

"What?"

"I will let you punch first, because I can see in your eyes you are contemplating your demise and wither or not you can get in a hit or not."

"I… I guess?" Kenpachi asked confused wither to be insulted or by the shear fact Amagi would offer that.

"I am waiting for when ever you are."

Kenpachi awkwardly raised his fist to a fighting stance but knew better to just charge at Amagi head first. A few moments passed as Kenpachi debated wither to run head first or try a side attack.

"I am growing more irritated by the moment, Captain." Amagi said without a change in tone from his voice. Before Amagi could finish, Kenpachi used Shunpo and appeared behind Amagi, he quickly went to punch the back of his head. The first blow came rather quickly, too quickly for Kenpachi to realize he had been punched in the chest. When Kenpachi's punch landed, Amagi had grabbed the side of his severely bloody head and tossed him to the side. Before he even touched the ground Amagi was over him with his leg in the air, ready to strike. Kenpachi tried to move, to roll, to do anything to get out of the way but he was to badly beaten for his body to respond. The second Amagi's heel contacted Kenpachi's back, he blacked out and did not feel his spine shatter.

Kenpachi found himself in a vast void of nothing but white. He tried to walk, but did not know if he truely was moving or not. trying to figure out where he was, the familair figure appeared, he shook his head in resentment. Behind the metal face gaurd, peircing blue eyes gazed out staring deeply at Kenpachi. 'if you listen,' the mans voice was deep and harsh, 'and call out my name, I will show you how to wield this sword and use its every power.'

"You got yourself a deal," Kenpachi grinned toothily as he gazed at the medevil armor clad man.

"I told you to turn around and walk away wile you still could, and now look, you cannot even walk." Amagi said walking over kenpachi's lifeless, paralyzed body. A pool of blood began to grow around his head, pouring out from the many deep cuts and abrasions on his face and side of his head.

"Now it is time to die." Amagi lifted up a finger and pointed it at Kenpachi. His reiatsu began to spike and grow more intense as a small black orb grew in size at Amagi's finger tip.

"How sad." Amagi thought aloud as he released his Bala at Kenpachi.

"Getsugo Tensho!"

A red infused with black beam appeared out of no where and contacted with Amagi's released Bala, this in turn creating a massive explosion, blasting debris and sending it in every direction for hundreds of miles.

"Ichigo Kurosaki! So nice of you to finally drop by and pay another visit, my friend!" Amagi said looking over his shoulder at Ichigo who was already in his Bankai and hollow mask.

"This ends now Amagi!" Ichigo yelled.

"Oh yes, yes it does end now," Amagi began, "but not the way you expect it too." As he finished he smirked and a peculiar shape appeared on the shadow side of his face.


	16. Ch 16 the Final Battle Begins

**Ch 16 the Final Battle Begins; Ichigo vs. Amagi**

Ichigo was taken aback by the sudden change in Amagi's attitude. He quickly shifted into a defensive stand, anticipating that Amagi could strike at any second.

"Why so serious?" Amagi smirked.

"It is time to end this Amagi; no more of my friends are going to get hurt because of you." Ichigo said forcefully.

"Oh I do have to agree with you there Ichigo Kurosaki," Amagi said harshly as he slowly drew his zanpakuto and rested the blunt end on his shoulder, glaring up at Ichigo, "just no more showing up randomly to save the day though."

Neither of the two said or did anything as a light breeze kicked up some debris and stream of dust along the ground. Moments pass when a coughing distracted them.

"Well hey! Look at," Amagi said looking over at the blood covered heap of what is Kenpachi, "the bastard survived all that and is still conscious."

"Kenny!" said a little girl's voice.

"Vice-captain Yachiru, wait!" Ichigo reached out to grab for the Vice-captain's arm but it was to late, she was already out of reach.

"My friend, no need to be so hasty, I won't hurt her," Amagi smirked, "yet at least."

Lieutenant Yachiru ran straight past Amagi and stopped when she was over Kenpachi and was horrified by the carnage; when his spin was shattered he landed in an awkward, twisted motion, as well as the many deep gashes on his face and the rest of his body that were still bleeding profusely which left a pool of blood around him. She screamed in fear and anger at what had happened to him.

"What happened here Ichigo?" Rukia Kuchiki asked, arriving on the scene to see the massive destruction. She came with the remaining Captains and Lieutenants whom were still able to fight Amagi

"I have no idea; I came to late to help Kenpachi"

"Captain Zaraki!" Vice-captain Hasagi and Kira yelled as they appeared behind Rukia.

"My, oh my…" Captain Shunsui muttered as he and Urahara stepped forward.

"What a surprise! Everyone decided to show up at the best moment," Amagi chuckled, "After he dies, that you all die with him."

"What is with his random attitude and mood changes?" Uryuu whispered to no one in particular.

"Wish I had an answer for you Uryuu." Urahara said shaking his head.

Amagi changed his stance and sheathed his sword and turned to walk away.

"Get back here! Where the hell do you think you are going?" Yelled Ichigo in desperation

"No where, just letting you all to help Kenpachi and to enjoy the last moments there are."

They all looked around in surprise to his words. Yet they took that as an opportunity to help Yachiru move Kenpachi. As Hasagi and Kira rushed to Yachiru's side, Ichigo never took an eye off Amagi.

Amagi paid no attention to them as he stood with his arms folded and looked around at the desolate scenery. _Intriguing_ he thought to himself as loose gravel and dirt flowed past him in the wind.

"This is got to be a trap." Ichigo said wearily to the others. He still held his zanpakuto firmly in his hand though his hollow mask had long but disappeared.

"No to sure of that Ichigo," Yuroichi saidas she put her hand on his shoulder, "I believe what ever caused him to be like this is beginning to have a tremendous effect on him mentally and it could be loosing control."

"wait… what?"

"Never mind, just don't do anything to irrational." Yet her words were too late to mean anything. Amagi large shockwave of reishi blasted past everyone, throwing them hard. The Vice-captains had only gotten Kenpachi a short distance away when they were hit by the shockwave; they were thrown against the ground. Those who could regained their footing, but the others who couldn't, like the Vice-captains and those who could barely withstand the immense reiatsu that followed, stayed where they were on the ground.

Everyone's attention was thrown on Amagi as his reiatsu flicked and licked the air around him like a massive black and deep blue fire. He turned to face them and his eyes shone a bright emerald green. A interesting mix of deep blue and emerald green overwhelmed their senses. Ichigo, who was still the closest shielded his eyes, but could still faintly make out Amagi's outline and noticed there was a peculiar shape to it; almost dragon or serpent like in shape. As quickly as it started, the pulsating shockwave of Amagi's reiatsu, stopped. Massive cracks shot outward away from Amagi and the ground began to shift erratically. Parts lifted high in the air, other sections fell a great distance. With the tremendous roar of this event, every shinigami, human and quincy alike dashed to help the other off the ground and off to safety. The only ones who remained were Ichigo and Amagi; locked in a death stare that could not be broken.

A short distance away with every one safe Uryuu turned to Captain Shunsui who just only shrugged his shoulders. Everyone else was just as confused with what had just happened.

"I wonder-" Urahara began but trailed off in thought.

"Wonder what?" Vice-captain Kira asked with anticipation, expecting Urahara to answer and finish what he was about to say, but he never did. So as vice-captain Yachiru and a few lower ranked shinigami helped Kenpachi's limp, lifeless body through the gate which led into the Seireitei, the others turned their focus back onto the battle that would unfold in front of them.

"So shall we begin?" Amagi said jabbing his zanpakuto into the only undisturbed ground in the area. The ground stopped shifting and created what seemed to be steep mesas and shallow mountains within Karakura town.

"I am going to enjoy watching you die." Amagi devilishly smirked.

"Not unless I kill you first!"

"Than let's do this." Amagi said just before Ichigo took his invitation and blasted a Getsugo Tensho at him. Amagi stepped aside and let it explode next to him. Amagi laughed and reached for his zanpakuto still stuck in the concrete which once was a street. Before he could, Ichigo landed next to him and swung his sword, nearly catching Amagi off guard. He ducked at the last possible second and went to counter with a jab to Ichigo's rib cage but was surprised when Ichigo leapt back.

"Some one seems to have gotten faster in the past few days!" Amagi laughed as he casually yanked his zanpakuto from the ground, splitting the ground at his feet with a thunderous clap.

"That, or you have gotten slower." Ichigo protested.

"Either way this should be quite the battle!"

Some where in another dimension, Aku and Toshino were preparing to enter into the world of the living. Aku taped the butt of his sword in a peculiar pattern along the massive stone wall that was at the end of his palace.

"So it begins Toshino," He said as he looked at his accomplice, "When we enter the world of the living, it will be ours."

"Just as long as Mitsu doesn't fail us, Boss"

"True but he did give use the signal to come, so it is time."

When Aku finished talking a ripping sound echoed across the cavernous room, followed by a tear across the stones that grew in size. The two looked at each other, Aku gave a quick nod, and Toshino gave and evil smile. Looking forward they stepped in and with a loud bang, the tear collapsed on itself leaving a bare stone wall.


	17. Ch 17 Ichigo Vs Amagi The Finale?

**Ch. 17 Ichigo Vs. Amagi; The finale?**

A gust of wind came through picking up any loose, small debris and pelted the two men who were staring each other down, waiting for the other to move to attack. Moments pass by when something catches Amagi's attention

"Crap, not yet you bastards." Amagi muttered to himself as he looked off into the distance.

"What?" Ichigo asked not knowing what Amagi meant. Amagi did not say a word and continued to stare off in the distance.

Ichigo used that to his advantage and jumped at Amagi. His first strike went wild missing the unsuspecting Amagi only by a fraction of an inch. Ichigo's second strike was head on but was easily caught by Amagi who reeled on him trying to get a clean punch to his face. Missing, Amagi brought his zanpakuto down on Ichigo who had just dodged being punched in the face. Ichigo narrowly blocked Amagi's attack but had to use all his strength to keep from being slammed into the ground. With his right foot, Amagi jabbed for Ichigo's leg. Making contact, Ichigo dropped to his knee grunting in pain as the bone of his femur broke in two places. In response Ichigo ignored the pain and pushed up with all his strength and forced Amagi off balance.

"Well I figured this was going to be an interesting fight!" Amagi chuckled as he jumped back a few feet to let Ichigo stand up. As he did, Ichigo winced in pain.

"Damn, your kicks are even more brutal now." Ichigo stammered as he shifted his balance to his left leg.

"Seeing that you're still standing, they are not as brutal as they seem." Amagi claimed, spinning his zanpakuto in his hand. Letting the blade face the ground and pointing behind him.

Ichigo ignored the pain in his leg and pushed off the ground towards Amagi who did the same. Clouds of dust were left in their wake as they flew towards each other with increasing speed. As they grew closer to each other, Ichigo lifted his zanpakuto high in the air ready, and waiting to strike. The black sword came down on Amagi but to no prevail; Amagi caught it in mid-swing with his free hand, and with his zanpakuto he attempted to slash at Ichigo's torso but underestimated the distance between the two. Even though Amagi missed, Ichigo was thrown backwards by the tremendous force behind the swing.

"Crap, I missed." Amagi said rubbing the back of his head and shrugging his shoulders. Ichigo only grunted at the remark. He was too worried about how long his mask would last if he used it and if he could still control it.

"Let's finish this!" Ichigo shouted as he reached up across his face to pull down his hollow mask. Bringing his hand across his face, the white mask with red stripes materialized and his reiatsu rose sharply.

"I was wondering when you were going to do that."

"Thought I could beat you without it," Ichigo explained with the crackle in his voice, "but than I remembered the last time we fought and you nearly killed me even with it on."

"Yes that is true, but it seems to me that you gotten stronger than the last time we fought. I wonder what has been feeding your strength."

"Wouldn't you like to know ass-hole" Ichigo said

"Ha, yes I would like to know," Amagi laughed, "So tell me!" He disappeared and reappeared nearly instantly in front of Ichigo. Ichigo stood his ground and stared back into Amagi's dark eyes.

"Tell me!" Amagi yelled with frustration as he lunged forward and grabbed Ichigo by his collar.

"I hate you with every thing I have! I would give anything to see you bleed and die on the ground." Ichigo shouted back as he punched Amagi in the face. Amagi laughed as he rubbed his chin.

"As hatred as your strength, I would be careful if I were you. Hatred can cloud your judgment and be your downfall."

Surprised by the words of advice coming from this man, Ichigo only could gaze at him.

"So, shall we continue?" Amagi asked. _So this is the end, it ends here, by your hands, _he thought to himself, _the keys have been shown. _Amagi closed his eyes and let the wind blow his hair back.

Before Amagi opened his eyes, Ichigo had once again jumped at him. Amagi deflected his attack and brought his foot around to kick Ichigo's unprotected side. He noticed the counter-attack but was not quick enough to dodge. With a bang, he found himself being launched at a tremendous speed. After smashing into the ground and leaving a large crater, he got up to face Amagi but stopped himself from attacking. Ichigo felt Amagi's reiatsu begin to rise.

With a sudden blast, his reiatsu instantly rose. It gotten so intense, that the torn shirt he was wearing disintegrated along with everything a short distance away from him. Lucky for Ichigo who was a good distance away was not affected by the sheer power of the reiatsu, but it was so dense he had a hard time breathing as well as standing on his broken leg. Amagi began to yell as his reiatsu was still sharply sky-rocketing. With a loud clap that sounded similar to thunder, Amagi's reiatsu leveled off and began to stay steady. It was still very dense but Ichigo was able to cope with it.

When the dust settled around him, Ichigo gasped at the tattoos on Amagi; they were glowing a deep red and reishi were slowly depleting from them.

"Why so serious?" Amagi chuckled in a manner that sent chills down Ichigo's back.

Amagi blasted off the ground and headed straight for Ichigo. Within seconds, their zanpakutos met and sent a shower of sparks flying everywhere. In a quick recession of swings, Ichigo could barely keep his balance. One of Amagi's slashes caught Ichigo's arm, nearly slicing it off and sent blood showing down. He found an opening when Amagi rose up his zanpakuto to finish Ichigo off and, through his pain, shot a getsugo tensho at close range towards him. It caught him off guard and hid him behind a flood of black and red. Knowing that Amagi would soon emerge, he got into a defensive stance and waited. When the cloud passed there was no sign of Amagi. Frantically looking behind him and every which way, Ichigo expected him to have appeared close to him but couldn't see him. When Ichigo had again turned behind him to look there was a loud clap and Amagi appeared in front of him. Caught by surprise Amagi drove his zanpakuto into back, spraying blood as the tip passed through his torso. Ichigo coughed up blood as Amagi quickly pulled his sword back out and let Ichigo fall to the ground with a loud thump.

"Pathetic," Amagi spat as he watched Ichigo struggle to stand, " I thought this fight would last longer and be more challenging than this."

"Bastard, you sneaky bastard how I hate you," Ichigo coughed up more blood, "You will not get away with what you have done to Orihime." He got to his feet but nearly fell back over.

"Is that why? What do you think I did to her?" Amagi questioned as he casually landed and took a step towards Ichigo, who reacted by trying to take a step back.

"You kidnapped her and did only who knows what."

"Yes, I did kidnap her, but I did not do anything to her." Amagi took another step towards Ichigo.

"I do not believe that!"

"Oh, you don't? I only said I did something to her to get this reaction from you." Amagi was in arms length from Ichigo at this point.

Ichigo did not say a word but there was a flash of frustration and confusion across his face. Before he could realize it, his hollow mask was breaking apart.

"I know what you want to do, so do it." Amagi said taking another step towards Ichigo and placed his hand on his shoulder.

"Wait, do what?" Ichigo asked with a new found sense of confusion.

"Let your hatred and all your frustration drive that zanpakuto to do what you want it to do," Amagi whispered into Ichigo's ear, "finish this quick before they get here."

"Before who gets here?" Ichigo asked, taking an awkward step back and looking into Amagi's eyes. He noticed that they were no longer dark and almost black, but had regained their natural green hue.

"Do it now, Ichigo Kurosaki." Amagi said forcefully.

Ichigo raised his zanpakuto, the tip level with Amagi's heart.

"Wait! Ichigo no don't!" Orihime and Rangiku yelled from a far as they finally found where Ichigo and Amagi were fighting, but yet it was too late. Ichigo had regained his composure and found what strength he had left just moments before Orihime and Rangiku had arrived. His zanpakuto thrust into Amagi's chest, entering out his back. Blood sprayed out his back but it quickly turned into reishi. Ichigo withdrew his zanpakuto and took a step back; he soon collapsed from the amount of blood that had been lost. Yet, he still remained conscious as he watched Amagi fall to his knees. Instead of blood pouring from his wounds, a reishi began to steady stream out.

"Thank you," Amagi whispered, "I am finally free." He closed his eyes and leaned over. A beam of light shot outward from the hole in his back and his chest. As quickly as it happened it disappeared and the last stream of reishi had left Amagi's lifeless body.

"Amagi!" Rangiku screamed as she ran over to his body, tears running down her cheeks. She put her head on his chest to listen for any signs of life.

"Why are you treating him like that?" Ichigo softly asked as he winced in pain.

"The man you were fighting was not who we all thought he was," Orihime said as she kneeled over Ichigo, examining his deep wounds and avoiding the pool of blood that surrounded him. Ichigo just looked at her confused not knowing what to say.


	18. Ch 18 Nia and Amagi part 1

Ch. 18 Nia and Amagi; part 1

"Hey ass-hole what are you doing?" Nia Utsukushii asked in a childish manner as she turned to face Amagi who stood behind her. There was a light breeze that rustled the massive, ancient trees that dotted the path they were standing in front of. They had just walked across an open field of tall wild grass.

"Nothing really." He smirked at her, turning slightly red. She still stood halfway facing him and let the wind blow her long blood-red hair across her face, partially hiding her face. Eventually she flung her long zanpakuto over her shoulder and began to turn away. As she turned, Amagi walked past her with his hands in his pockets and teasingly brushed against her, and as soon as he did he stopped and stood next to her. They gazed into each others eyes and smiled. Nia wrapped her free arm around Amagi's and the two began to walk down the path into the forest.

Nia and Amagi eventually came to a massive iron gate that banged and rattled as it rose up. They were barely through the gate when Toshino stepped in their way.

"Hey Nia," Toshino smiled at her, "Mitsu."

"Hey Toshino," Nia replied.

"Toshino." Amagi glared at him. Toshino who was recently recruited by their boss, Aku, proudly strode around like he was Aku's new apprentice.

"Aku wants to see us as soon as possible, so I think it best we hurry to the Chamber." Toshino said. Nia and Amagi said nothing but nodded, for both of them knew that Aku had another mission in the ready.

When they all had entered the gigantic cavernous Chamber, Aku was sitting on his chair which rose up a few above the rest of the flat colorless stone floor. Aku waived his hand and the few people who stood around him chatting quickly dashed out of the room.

"So, good job on taking care of that chore for me." Aku said looking from Amagi to Nia.

"It was nothing really," Nia casually said, "Amagi almost got beat up again, but that is nothing new."

"Hey, wait a second," Amagi shouted, "if it wasn't for you trying to pick a fight with every single person you see and than run off, I wouldn't have had that problem!"

"Stop complaining and deal with it!" Nia chuckled, putting her hands on her hips, "not my fault you could barely handle that last guy."

"He may have been shorter than you, but he was stronger than he looked!"

"Are you calling me short Amagi?" Nia turned to face Amagi and glared at him.

"Shut up both of you!" Aku yelled, both of them stood straight and faced him. _Stupid little kids, _Toshino whispered aloud, but thought no one could hear him

"You too, Toshino." Aku pointed a finger at him. Toshino folded his arms and shook his head.

"Back to business, I have another mission for you all to do tomorrow," began Aku," so rest up and I will have more details in the morning. Now get the hell out of my room!" They all turned and walked out the main door, talking and laughing as they did. Toshino stayed behind.

"So is tomorrow when it is going to happen?" Toshino asked as soon as the door slammed shut.

"Yes, tomorrow things will be changing around here between those two." Aku said resting his head on his hand and stared blankly at the door as if he was trying to picture Amagi and Nia walking down the path, hand in hand.

After the sun went down behind the mountains, a slight mist began to flow across the valley. Nia was practicing her technique, swinging her long deadly looking zanpakuto around, stopping, than thrusting it at the air. She easily handled the sword despite its size. After some time she stopped and stood watching Amagi sitting on the ground with his legs crossed, and his zanpakuto across his lap.

"You and you're damn meditating!" She said as she walked over and sat next to Amagi. Not opening his eyes, Amagi only smiled at her irritation.

"You never practice your technique, so it is no wonder why you end up nearly getting you ass kicked."

"Who says I am not mastering it now?" He softly questioned her statement.

"Well wither or not you are," Her voice became soft and seductive, "I still enjoy saving your ass" Amagi opened his eyes and gazed at her. He leaned forward and kissed her gently on the lips. Still not used to this emotion of love, and caring, Nia blushed heavily and returned the kiss. He ran his fingers through her soft hair and ended by placing his hand on her cheek. Nia reached up and grabbed his hand and rested her head fully on his hand.

"Now, you try and meditate" Amagi said as Nia let go of his hand and leaned back on the trunk of the tree behind her.

"Are you kidding me?" Nia blurted out, taken aback by how quick Amagi went back to focusing on meditating.

"Nope I am not!" He chuckled

"How romantic of you, Amagi." Nia said sarcastically

"Yes I know, but we have to be prepared for tomorrow," Amagi began, "We can be romantic after we are done meditating."

"Ok, fine." She sat up and crossed her legs while resting her zanpakuto across her lap. Amagi had fallen silent and Nia soon follow suit.

After some time in silence, Nia whispered just loud enough for Amagi to hear, "I love you."

"I love you, too." Amagi replied surprised by what Nia had said. He opened an eye and watched her for a few moments as she sat calmly, still meditating. He smiled and once again returned to his own thoughts.

The sun was high in the sky and a light breeze blew across the open field. Amagi and Nia where in front while Toshino held back and walked behind them. Amagi kept recalling the previous night when he kissed Nia and her finally confessing how deeply she feels for him.

"Why are you so giddy today Mitsu?" Toshino hissed, sending chills down Amagi's spine.

"Shut up Toshino." Nia said flatly, catching him off guard.

"I was not asking you, Nia."He retaliated. Amagi did not pay attention to either of them. Something off in the distance had caught his eye and he was cautious to go investigate what it was.

"Maybe that is where we are headed." Nia said, figuring out what had drawn Amagi's attention away from the conversation at hand. The three of them did not change pace, they continued forward on the dirt road. Their mission was to investigate an old town with reports of high activity of Hollows. They soon realized they had found the town.

"Ok let's split up." Amagi suggested, turning to the other two. Nia nodded while Toshino stood with his arms folded, "Nia take the west part of town towards and the forest clearing, Toshino you take the east and the surrounding forest. I will take the north areas."

"Ok sounds good," Nia acknowledged, "if I find anything I will let you know."

"What ever." Toshino muttered. Amagi glared at him but was used to his attitude so did not respond.

"If no one sees anything, be back here in a few hours." Amagi said and waited for the others to be out of sight before continuing on to the town. _This is boring, why does the old bastard want us hunting Hollows? _Amagi thought to himself, _would rather be training for the day we attack the World of the Living. I wonder… _His thoughts trailed off as he entered the center of town and found it was deserted and there were no signs of life there, or had been there.

Throughout the area there was a dense and ominous presence that lingered and made Amagi very cautious. If there were Hollows in the area, they were being drowned out by this presence. Made him wonder what this could be; either a Hollow or something far stronger than himself. As he walked past the last house in the town something caught his eye at the edge of the forest. Drawing his zanpakuto he slowly crept to where he saw a figure in the trees. Just before he got to that spot he felt a sharp increase of reiatsu and a loud bellowing roar.

"Nia!" He said turning in the direction of where the reiatsu was coming from. He looked up to see a massive shape flying through the sky in the same direction. As fast as he could he ran to her. Worrying at the same time he could be too late because he felt that presence moving; it was in the same area Nia was in. Running through the forest, Amagi cut down every tree and every figure that happened to be in his way. With doing that he reached her in a matter of seconds. Clearing the forest he reached the clearing where Nia was ambushed, but was amazed to see how many of them she had already cut down.

"Nia!" Amagi yelled to get her attention but it had the opposite affect, a horde of Hollows turned around and charged at him. He easily tore them apart with one swing of his zanpakuto.

"Amagi! Get your ass over here!" She called over as she pulled her zanpakuto from the head of a fallen Hollow. Blood sprayed everywhere as she quickly turned around and slashed at another that had come up behind her. Amagi fought as hard as he could to get over to her, but the seemingly endless amount of Hollows prevented him from moving very far and very fast. After some time he finally reached her and they stood back to back.

"What the hell is with all this?" Nia asked, not expecting an answer or even a reply. She decapitated a fairly large Hollow in a shower of blood.

"Wish I knew the answer," Amagi replied as he cut off an arm and spun around, cutting open the Hollows abdomen, "but that presence is here in this area, I just don't know where."

Some distance away, up at an altitude where he could watch the events unfolding, Toshino stood with his arms folded. A look of satisfaction flashed across his face when a Hollow and punched Amagi which sent him sliding a short distance, but never lost his footing.

"I see the serum works." Aku said as he stepped behind Toshino, placing his hand on his shoulder.


	19. Ch 19 Nia and Amagi Their Final Kiss

Ch. 19 Nia and Amagi; their final kiss

Nia Utsukushii's long red hair fluttered in the wind as she stood, poised to strike the next Hollow that charged at her. She reminded Amagi of a praying mantis laying in wait for her pray to walk past, so she could strike without warning. Amagi looked Nia from head to toe, admiring her beauty, even in this hard time he could not help himself. Her slender legs and her petite body kept him from focusing on the Hollow that stepped forward and was about to swipe at him.

"Oh, shit!" He gasped, ducking as the large claw like hand attempted to tear at his torso. In one quick fluid motion, the arm was cleanly sliced off and fell to the ground in a thud. Blood sprayed from what remained of the Hollows arm, and it roared in pain. Amagi finished the Hollow off with another quick slice to its abdomen. Before it could fall over, another Hollow pushed the lifeless body to the side and bellowed a deep ground shaking growl.

"These things won't stop coming!" Nia said with a hint of desperation in her voice.

"I know, but what are they all doing here," Asked Amagi. "This is starting to get ridiculous."

"It is, and also you need to focus more on the hollows in front of you rather than my ass!"

"Yeah, ok will do." Amagi blushed realizing she had noticed him watching her.

"Doesn't matter though, you are too cute when you are embarrassed," She smiled at him, "you turn all red." Still blushing, Amagi smiled back and went to reply but something caught his attention behind Nia. There was a massive figure darting around in the trees, making them sway from side to side in an unusual matter. Keeping a weary eye on that area, Amagi turned back to face the onslaught of hollows that seemed almost limitless. As more and more hollows moved forward, only to be cut down, a large pile of bodies began to accumulate in front of them. Blood started to flow between them and pool at the edge of the forest. A tree cracked and fell as a massive hand extended out of the shadows and scooped up handfuls of the blood and retreated back into the forest, only to repeat a twice more. Nia and Amagi looked at each other and gave a frightened stare. What ever this thing is was gigantic, but it was hiding, and very well at that.

"Nia!" Amagi shouted as one of the hollows lunged at her, knocking her off her feet. Amagi quickly dashed over to her and stabbed the hollow in the chest. Standing over her to prevent the hollow from falling on her, he punched it in the face with enough force that it was sent falling backwards, crushing another small hollow who tried to charge and attack Nia as she laid on the ground. Amagi looked down at her and she blushed.

"That is a sight I thought I would never see again," Amagi chuckled. He noticed she was staring up at him and the only thing she could see was his butt.

"Well don't get used to it!" She retaliated. Amagi only laughed more as he helped her up and as he did, he kissed her. It did not last very long for more hollows tried to move in to get there chance to attempt to attack them. As Nia and Amagi turned to face the hollows, she whispered in his ear, "I liked the view by the way." Amagi blushed as he brought his zanpakuto down on a hollows head, splitting it down the center. It gurgled as blood pooled in its mouth and fell forward.

Soon Amagi noticed that the ranks of hollows started to thin out dramatically. Though, the dense reiatsu remained as well as the figure that was pacing through the forest, knocking down more trees to pick up bodies of fallen hollows that had been thrown with in its reach. Nia must have noticed this as well; she kept on glancing at the figure as another tree fell before it. More and more hollows fell before Amagi and Nia and the strain of the continuous fighting was beginning to show in their faces. Amagi's powerful attacks and reactions got slower and every swing became less and less devastating. Nia did not fair much better; her quick slashes and stabs also got slower. They had been separated some time before by a rhino like hollow that charged at them. This brought less support that the other brought to the point they were mainly fighting more defensively than offensively. Amagi thought he had finished off a hollow, but soon found out that he hadn't.

With his weakening attacks, the hollow was still mobile, and with its long sickle like claw, it swung at Amagi's leg and made contact. The claw tore into his femur, breaking it as well as tearing multiple muscles. It did not go straight through his leg so the hollow pulled at Amagi. He yelled in pain as he lost his balance and was dragged fairly fast across the ground towards the forest. Unable to move due to the pain, he closed his eyes. He was surprised by the sudden screech of the hollow and feeling the claw being pulled out of his leg.

"Plötzlich Donner (sudden thunder)!" Nia shouted as she cut off the hollows arm and jabbed the tip of her zanpakuto into the ground. The ground split in multiple directions and a wall of light illuminated from within the cracks. With a loud clap that resembled thunder, a blast of energy shot out in all directions from where the tip of her sword and penetrated the ground. Every hollow in the immediate area was instantly vaporized or blasted backwards into the forest.

"Thank you Nia," Amagi said as he stood up and looked at the amount of blood that was oozing out of the wound in his leg, "I thought I was a goner there for a moment."

"If I hadn't seen you fall and being dragged, yeah you would have been!" She panted as she pulled her zanpakuto out of the ground and rested the blunt side on her shoulder. With her other hand she placed it on her hip.

"That worked fairly will actually." Amagi explained as he looked around and saw that the once green field was now scared dirt with pools of blood mixed mud. She nodded but was to out of breath to say anything. Panting, she looked into Amagi's eyes and chucked.

"I never get used to that," he eventually said after they both looked around, surveying the battle field.

"Surprising how devastating it is, don't you think?" Nia said in bewilderment as she kneeled over to examine one of the hollows that was not disintegrated by her attack. Limping over to her, he put his hand on her shoulder.

"Yeah, I would hate to be on the receiving end," he joked. She laughed softly and noticed blood oozing out of Amagi's wound.

"You leg!" Nia said suddenly, changing the subject. As she reached over to apply pressure on it, Amagi was struck from behind. He lurched forward, and another blow sent him flying. His limp body rolled a good distance and came to a stop in an awkward position, but before he lost consciousness, Amagi though he heard someone, or something laughing.

"Toshino, make sure he is not conscious for this." Aku said as he stepped out of the shadows of the forest and pointed at Amagi's limp body. Toshino gave a devilish smirk as he walked over and kicked Amagi in the face.

"Hey! I said make sure he isn't conscious, not try and kick his face in!" Aku yelled in response to Toshino's actions, "Now Nia, precious Nia."

"What the hell is going on here?" She demanded.

"Oh, we think you know what is going to happen here, babe." Toshino said, drawing his sword from the sheath he carries on his back. Extending a hand out to Toshino and shaking his head, Aku took a step forward, but kept his right hand in his pocket. Nia took up a defensive stance and took a step backward every time Toshino or Aku took one forward.

"Why though?" She pleaded, "Why are you doing this?"

"I know what you and Amagi talk about," Aku said straightening his back and putting his left hand his pocket, "and I for one, do not need to have my best two associates plotting to break away from me and have an armed coup d'etat if needed." Nia did not say a word, but the look in her eyes and the ways she winced at what he said, only solidified Aku's claim.

"How did you find out?"

"I know more than you may think, my dear Nia."

Knowing she could not fight them at the same time, Nia tried to make a break for it to lure one of them into the forest so she could ambush them as the pursued her. As she turned she ran straight into Toshino who pushed her back. She regained her footing and attempted to slash at him. It was a wild swing so he was easily able to dodge it, but he was not aware of her fist that followed suit of the swing. It landed squarely on his face and broke his nose. Blood immediately began to pour out.

"You bitch!" He yelled as he clenched his nose. Nia used him being preoccupied to attack again so she went in low, but before she could attack, she felt someone grab he by her hair and yanked her back, the force was so intense she lost grip of her zanpakuto and it was sent flying. Nia stumbled and fell to the ground.

"Toshino, pay more attention you dumb-ass." Aku said casually as he pulled Nia up to where her face was level with his. She kicked and squirmed but his grip was to much. Toshino ignored his remark and stood still clenching his nose muttering to himself.

"So Nia," Aku said moving her face closer, "you are a distraction and a menace to my plan."

"What plan is that?" She said through clenched teeth.

"Amagi is more powerful than you, Toshino or even I put together, and I plan to make sure he does not realize that." As he said that she glared at him with as much hatred as she could muster up.

"In an attempt to make sure that does not happen, I cannot have a pretty little think like that distract him and give him hope, so, I am going to use you death as a means of getting him under MY control, not yours."

"Screw you! He never has been under my control!" She said as she kneed Aku in the stomach. He winced and released her. As soon as her feet touched the ground, she swiped Aku's feet from underneath him and as he fell, she punched him in the stomach. As he hit the ground, Nia felt a searing pain that erupted in her chest. She looked down and to her horror she saw a blade sticking out only inches away from her heart.

"Calm yourself babe." Toshino said she he pushed the sword even deeper to where the hilt pressed against her back. She coughed blood as he wrapped his free arm around her waist and pushed her hips against his, "Isn't that nice?"

"Toshino, knock it off," Aku said as he stood up and brushed the dirt off his clothes, Toshino nodded and quickly yanked out his sword from her chest, causing her to scream in pain, "Nia, that was not very nice of you."

She crumpled to the ground and held her chest. A pool of blood was quickly forming around her. She looked up at Aku and gave him a pleading look. He shook his head and in a few quick steps was standing over her. Nia went to say something, but was unable to, she was in to much pain and fear overcame her. Aku kneeled and pushed some of her hair away from her face.

"Such a waste of a beautiful creature this is going to be." Aku whispered into her ear. He flipped her over and grabbed her by her throat, squeezing hard as he stood up, letting her feet dangle as he lifted her up.

"Death will come to you swiftly, just do not fight it or it will be painful." Aku whispered as he pulled out a dagger from underneath his jacket with his left free hand. Nia gave up struggling for she knew what was about to happen, she just wished Amagi would wake up and rescue her and destroy these two monsters. Looking over at Amagi's lifeless body she was only stricken with sadness as she wished she had more time with the man who changed her. She closed her eyes and felt the tears run down her cheek. She recalled her and Amagi in bed together as the first strike came. It was quick and pierced her stomach. She gasped as five more blows pierced her stomach and chest. As the strikes came, she did not wince or show any signs of pain, she was deep into thought about the first time she meet Amagi, and also the first time they had made love. Before she knew it, she felt her body fall and, what felt like an eternity, land with a thud on the ground.

"Your sacrifice will prove to be great when it comes to the destruction of this place and the world of the living," Aku said as he knelt over her, "just like we all had originally planned." As he finished, he slowly pierced Nia's side, puncturing her kidney. This time she gasped in pain.

"Well that was quite the sight." Toshino said with his arms folded.

"It had to be done," Aku said standing up, putting his dagger back into his pocket, "I just hope he wakes up in time to see her before she dies."

"Oh, someone is getting all 'sentimental' on me?" Toshino raised an eyebrow at what Aku had said.

"No, seeing her for the last time alive will fuel his anger."

"I see, that is true." As Toshino finished that, Amagi stirred to life. Toshino and Aku looked at each other and nodded. Aku opened up a little vile and threw it on the ground. Within moments a mass horde of Hollows began to swarm around the field, but did not dare enter it.

Toshino ran over to Amagi, and shook him, "Amagi, get up! There has been a terrible accident!"

"Wha- What is going on?"

"It's Nia, she was attacked and it does not look good."

"Nia? Where is she?" Amagi said and was instantly attempting to stand up but fell right back down.

"She is over here, Amagi!" Aku shouted over to him. He staggered to his feet one more time and got his footing. Amagi ran over to Aku and to his horror, he saw Nia lying on the ground, covered in blood.

"Her wounds are too extensive, I cannot save her." Aku said shaking his head, "I am sorry Amagi, but she wouldn't be like this if you had not let your gourd down." Ignoring what Aku had said, Amagi dropped to his knees and tears began to fall off his cheeks.

"Nia, I am sorry."

"Not… your fault." She stuttered as she opened her eyes. Amagi leaned forward and kissed her on the forehead. Nia reached up and put her hand on the back of his head. She pulled his head back down and they locked lips, holding what would be their final kiss, and they both knew it.


	20. Ch 20 the Lost Soul

**Ch 20 the Lost Soul **

Nia lay back in Amagi's arms; she was getting to week to support herself up. They starred deep into each others eyes, not willing to break eye contact from the other. Tears were running down Amagi's face and dropping onto Nia's checks. She smiled at him when they did.

"Remember Amagi, never loose sight of what we had, or who you truly are." Nia struggled to say, "don't let them take control over you and us you." After the last word she passed out. Worried that he lost her already, Amagi pleaded with her to wake up, covered in her blood.

"A-Amagi?" She stuttered as she slowly regained consciousness

"Yes Nia, I am here, don't worry about a thing, I am here." He reassured her.

"I love you Amagi, never forget that…" Her voice trailed off as she began to loose consciousness again.

"I love you to Nia." He whispered to her, he smiled widely as he heard her say those words, she returned the smile but she drew her last breath and relaxed as she slowly exhaled. Hearing those words from Amagi made it easier for her as she passed. Amagi was left sitting there holding her lifeless body, stroking her long, wavy red hair. After a few moments Nia's body started to glow a brilliant gold and turned into reishi. The reishi blew away in the wind until there was nothing left but Amagi sitting there still holding out his hands wishing Nia was still there and this had not happened. Aku walked by Amagi and placed her zanpakuto by his side.

"This would have never happened if you were paying attention like you should have been," Aku whispered just loud enough for Amagi to here. Though Amagi was to busy contemplating what was happening in his head because his emotions became overwhelming; all at once he felt hatred, anger, sorrow, fear, caring, love, and to top them all off, revenge. Instantly something snapped in his head. Either it being between what Aku was saying, or the appearance of the Hollow who had the overwhelmingly dark reiatsu.

The Hollow was massive. It was taller than a two story building and hand exceptionally long arms that lead to claw like hands. The hollow had a hood over its head so the only thing visible was its large snake like red eyes and its hot breathe in the chilling evening. But none of that mattered to Amagi. He felt nothing as he stood up while also grabbing Nia's zanpakuto. He drew his own zanpakuto in his right while he held hers in his left. Amagi stood with both swords at his side and stared blankly at the Hollow as it bellowed at him. Instantly it was attacked with a furry and fierce strike by Amagi. The Hollow did not stand a chance even with how strong it was, but it was no match for Amagi, who had sliced off both arms at the same time and did a scissor like slash along its torso. The hollow threw back its head and screeched in pain. As it did, the hood came off, revealing a skull like head that resembled a rams head. The hollow was brutally decapitated and blood pooled around its newly fallen body. Amagi stood over it, covered in the hollows blood as well as countless others and on top of that; Nia's.

Amagi starred up at the sky as more Hollows began to group up, waiting to attack him. Amagi's reiatsu instantly skyrocketed as he let loose a blast of energy that instantly disintegrated numerous Hollows. But it did not end there. The energy he released began to shine brighter and brighter to where no one could see. In the distance Amagi could hear Aku's bone chilling laugh. The laugh continued as the blinding light faded into darkness. No other noise could be heard but Aku's laughing.

The laughing eventually faded and was replaced by a constant spatter of what sounded like rain.

_What? What is going on? Is this… rain? When was it raining? _These thoughts struck Amagi as he lay there on the soft ground with his eyes closed. He continued to lay there and felt the rain hit him. He enjoyed the constant pitter-patter of the rain and it soothed him. He stood up and looked around to see the once sunny sky was replaced by dark ominous clouds. There was a heavy breeze that flowed from behind him and he closed his eyes to how cool it was. He heard thunder off in the distance and opened his eyes to find out where it came from. Once he found out he watched in awe and wonder as he witnessed numerous lightning strikes that shot across the sky which was followed closely by a loud clap of thunder. He closed his eyes again to just listen the different sounds, but mainly to the thunder.

_Reminds me of Nia's zanpakuto _Amagi thought to himself.

"Well there you are!" He heard a female's voice say.

"Really, Kaminari?" Amagi asked sarcastically as he opened an eye to see a beautiful woman with Cyan colored eyes gazing at him. She handled a large black umbrella that she spun in her hands, and wore an equally large deep blue rain coat that did nothing to comment on her figure, as the skin tight combat suit had done during his last visit.

"Yes really," she said equally as sarcastic.

"So where are we?" Amagi asked bluntly.

"Where do you think we are?" Kaminari asked softly in response. Amagi blinked a few times and again looked around at the scenery around him, the rain still pouring down. He closed his eyes and felt the rain against his shirtless, muscular chest as well as his face. He felt the rain run down his checks, admiring how during his last visit that there was nothing here but a vast desert with rolling sand dunes.

"Much different from when you were last, isn't it?" Kaminari asked as she walked over to stand next him. As he stood with his face to the sky, Kaminari watched him, not looking away as a streak of lighting shot across the clouds. After a few minutes Amagi finally lowered his head and looked over at Kaminari who only blushed as he smiled at her.

"It is very different. Not even close to how hot it was!" Amagi said.

"No and I am glad," She giggled, "I do not know how much longer I could had lasted dealing with that heat." Amagi grinned and shook his head at what she said.

"I am sorry for that by the way." He said as he turned and started walking. Speechless Kaminari stood flabbergasted that Amagi had just apologized.

"Wait!" She called out as she turned to run to catch up to him.

"I am sure it was hard for you to see me in the state I was in." He turned to her as she caught up.

"It was, and I was ready to give up on you," She admitted, "I was going to stop holding you back and let you destroy yourself." The two of them came across a large rock that looked like limestone. The rock sat in the middle of a large stream that split it, leaving the two smaller streams to curl and twist in opposite directions. Kaminari did not know what to think or say about this rock because it was the first sign of anything other than the sand she was so accustomed of seeing.

"Well, I am glad that you didn't give up on me," Amagi said, smiling as he jumped up onto the rock.

"I always held onto the hope that the Amagi I had always knew was still locked away somewhere," She said leaning her back against the cold rough surface. She closed her eyes and tilted her head back. Amagi looked down at her and again smiled. At that very moment, he was filled with the warmth he had not felt in nearly a decade. To their astonishment the rain stopped and the clouds quickly dissipated leaving a clear blue sky with a single sun that hung high in the day. A rainbow glowed brightly where there was still rainfall off in the distance.

"The once lost soul of Amagi Mitsuko is lost no more." Kaminari whispered.

"I know that Nia's death was not my fault, I just did not know what really happened and did not care. I just lost control of myself because I lost her." Kaminari turned and looked at Amagi as he said that.

"No, it was not," she explained, "now you know whose fault it is, and why they did it."

"Aku and Toshino." Amagi muttered, shaking his head and looking off into the distance to see the thunder storm still ragging, and still gaining strength, "I need to correct what has been wrongfully done by them as well as me."

"Yes that you do." She agreed. She looked from his face down to his chest and realized that he still had the markings she put on him to protect his soul were still there. On noticing this, she pushed off the rock and stepped up next to him. He looked up at her as she kneeled down behind him and wrapped her arms around his chest.

"You no longer need these burdens on you," She whispered into Amagi's ear, resting her chin on his shoulder. As she did the four bands on his arm, the Eye of Rah on his chest began to glow. They soon started to break away in the wind as little chunks of reishi. As the last piece of reishi blew off, Amagi sighed with relief as though a massive amount of weight was lifted off his shoulders. Kaminari let go and as she stood up she gave him a quick kiss on the check. Amagi felt warm tears land on his check and turned to look at her.

"There is no need to cry Kaminari," Amagi reassured her.

"I am just happy that you are back." She smiled wiping away the tears. She climbed down off the rock and looked at the storm brewing. After a few moments she moved to remove the rain coat. Amagi was off thinking about what will happen from here on out and wondering where Nia ended up. His train of thought was interrupted by Kaminari tossing the black rain coat next to him. It made a plopping noise which caused him to look down at the coat lying next to him. He looked from the coat and than at Kaminari. Underneath the rain coat she wore a white traditional kimono blouse that had a blue dragon design that wrapped around it. The blouse had a deep V cut in the front of it. A blue ribbon strung around the torso and tied into a large bow behind her, the bow reminded Amagi of wings. The loose fitting pants she wore matched the same white as the blouse was. Kaminari looked over her shoulder at him and smiled. But before Amagi could say anything she began to walk away, her bare feet sinking into the soft ground as she did.

Amagi jumped off the rock and quickly caught up to her. He matched her stride and the two walked in silence for a good while. Amagi enjoyed the cool breeze as it blew past him as well as the sweet rain scented air as he inhaled. Kaminari walked in silence but still had a pleasant grin on her face. She was esthetic that Amagi's soul, as well as Amagi himself was finally almost going back to the way things once were. Her long brown hair fluttered in the wind behind her. Kaminari stopped walking and looked over at Amagi with a puzzled look.

"So, what are you doing here anyways?" She bluntly asked.

"It was the last step in my plan after I unlocked the seven emotions," Amagi said taken aback, "I planned and hoped that if I were to die you would prevent that, and you did. Thankfully."

"I see, so it was basically to prove to me and to your self that the true you was locked away and the only way to unlock it was to have the monster of what you became die."

"Yes, that basically sums up what I wanted." Amagi replied.

"I will make you a deal." Kaminari eventually said as her cyan eyes glistened.

"What would that be?" Amagi asked folding his arms.

"I will show and teach you every secret about my powers," She paused and smirked, "If you can remember and tell me what my real name is, because I am getting tired of being called 'Kaminari.'"

Amagi smirked in response, "Sounds like a deal." He took a step over to her and put his arms around her and brought her in close. Kaminari blushed and returned his hug.

"Your name has always, and will always be Tenshi(Angel)."


	21. Ch 21 the New Threat

Ch 21

"That was interesting." Kisuke Urahara said as he watched Amagi's body glow and than fall to the ground just moments before.

"To easy more like it." Uryuu softly said, pushing up his glasses as he stood next to Urahara.

The rest of them witnessed Rangiku kneeling over Amagi's lifeless body and tried to wake him. Orihime Inue walked over to her and placed her hand on her shoulder while resting her arm across her torso. The wind blew her hair red hair across her face as she reassured her and attempted to get her to move.

"Come one Rangiku, we need to get moving," Captain Hitsugaya said as he, Captain Kyoraku, and Vice-captains Hisagi and Kira appeared. She slowly stood up and wiped away the tears looking at Orihime who smiled and than to her captain, who only nodded.

"It's ok Rangiku; it was something that he knew needed to be done." Orihime reassured her. Ichigo stood next to them looking down at Amagi's peaceful face and soon regret overcame him.

"Ichigo, no need to beat yourself up about it," Kyoraku said walking over to him, "You had to do what you had to do. There was no way of knowing what he was planning, and he was always like that. I knew the kid and I found out he is always plotting, or always has something on his mind. Though, who you killed was not the same person as I knew, it was still Amagi." Ichigo looked up and stared him in the eyes. He knew Kyoraku was right so he nodded and agreed with him.

"Ichigo," Orihime gasped as she looked at the extent of Ichigo's injuries. He looked over at her and when he did, he collapsed. She quickly ran over to him and kneeled next to him. Orihime quickly began to heal Ichigo who was staring up into the blue sky Ichigo can only wonder what will happen next.

"What are we still doing here?" Hisagi asked as he sat on a partially destroyed wall, looking out at the decimated Karakura Town.

"We were ordered to stay here until further notice," Hitsugaya said with his hands in his pockets. He and Rangiku walked over to a hill not to far away from Hisagi.

"Amagi basically said someone he knows is on their way," Kisuke stated, Yuroichi walked next to him as he approached the wall Hisagi and Kira were sitting on, "and knowing what Amagi was like before he died, we are guessing they won't be so friendly either."

Rangiku paid no attention to them as they spoke, her mind and focus was still on Amagi's lifeless body as it lay out in the open. She stood with an arm across her midsection, pushing up her breasts, as she clasped her other arm as it hung by her side. She tried to move it, but an invisible field kept pushing them away every time she or anyone else got near to the body. She pondered what is to happen next.

"Don't look so down Rangiku." Hitsugaya told her as he put his hands in his pocket. She looked at him and smiled. Though the smile had no meaning, it was to try and reassure him that she was ok. They both knew that she was struggling.

Uryuu and Chad walked over to where Amagi's body laid. It still retained the awkward sense that Amagi was still somehow alive. Chad stopped a few feet behind Uryuu as he continued to walk towards Amagi. Rangiku tried to move his body not to long before but could not. He reached out and his hand was immediately pushed back with great force that he was almost thrown off his feet.

"This is what happened to Rangiku." Uryuu muttered as he regained his balance and pushed up his glasses. He again reached out but this time he placed the palms of his hands flat against what ever was there. This time a definite dome like field appeared and little streams of static electricity flowed around Uryuu's hands.

"What is this?" He quietly asked.

"It is no barrier I have ever seen before." Yuroichi said as she walked up behind them and kneeled down. She was closely followed by Kisuke who looked just as puzzled as the rest of them. Uryuu still held his hands on the barrier.

"This is not Kidu." Kisuke said as placed his hand on the barrier. But before anyone could say another word a strange new presence filled the air and captured all their attentions.

The wind died and the sky slowly turned black. As soon as the sky did, it was followed by a loud bang and a sound that resembled paper being slowly torn. The sky in front of them slowly began to split and two figures appeared in the dark recesses of the opening. As soon as the opening was wide enough for them, they stepped out onto the hard ground and looked around. The older of the two men, took a deep breath and slowly exhaled.

"Just feel all this reiatsu Toshino!" He laughed as he looked around at the darkened sky and the destroyed town. The older man reached up and ruffled his gray hair. Than he proceeded to fix the collar on his long black trench coat as he took a step forward and kicked a small rock out of his path. The old man was followed closely by the younger one.

"I feel it, Boss," The other man said smiling as he unfolded his arms and flipped up the hood on his jacket that seemed to be way to big for him, "Damn cold here though."

"Oh, when we get through with this place," The other man said looking back at Toshino, "it will be just like home!"

"Good," Toshino said as folded his arms.

"Well I see that sending Amagi here was a massive waste of our time." Aku said to Toshino as he looked at Amagi and shook his head in pity.

"He was always the weak one." Toshino added.

"Who might you be?" Kisuke Urahara called over to the two men, interrupting their conversation.

"I am the Boss of that pathetic boy laying there dead on the ground," The old man said in annoyance as he pointed at Amagi's body.

"So be it, but, what is your name?" Urahara asked

"The name is Aku." The old man said with added irritance

"Aku, what do you want?" Urahara responded.

"I want all of you," Aku paused, glaring at Urahara as he lifted up his right hand and snapped his fingers," To die." Instantly a swarm of black creatures emerged from the tear in the sky behind Aku. The creatures shot up ward and began to scatter, screeching as they did. Every Shinigami drew their zanpakutos and jumped up after them. These creatures looked almost bat-like as they zipped across the sky. Yet, as soon as they appeared, the creatures began to break apart or just simply stop moving and fall from the sky.

"What the hell!" Ichigo said as he watched the creatures fall down to the ground like a mixture of snow and hail. He still sat on the ground as Orihime finished up healing him.

"Really?" Aku laughed. Toshino was laughing and pointing at the Shinigami as they scattered to intercept the creatures for nothing.

"What's so funny?" Hitsugaya called out to him.

"They couldn't withstand being in this world," Aku chuckled to himself, "how pathetic."

"Seriously," Kyoraku persisted, "What's so funny?"

"This is." Aku stopped laughing; he raised his hand and snapped his fingers, instantly thirty or so of Aku's henchmen appeared around each of the Captains, Vice-captains, and humans. Each individual had at least three of four of Aku's henchmen around them.

"Why aren't all of you laughing?" Aku called out to them smirking as he looked them all in the eyes.


	22. Ch 22 The unwinnable Battle

Well sorry it took so long to post this chapter! Let me know what you all think of it so far and how it is progressing.

Ch 22 the Unwinnable Battle

"What the hell is he thinking!?" Ichigo shouted as he watched Hitsugaya release his bankai but than was cut down with one blow from his opponent. He hit with such a force that the ground split open upon impact.

"No! Hitsugaya!" Rangiku screamed. The battle only started some minutes before, and everyone quickly found out that even if they released there zanpakuto's, they were no match for this new enemy.

"Everyone, do not use bankai." Captain Shunsui said. Only a few understood why but still required a further explanation.

"Aku said it himself, they are not used to this amount of reitsu, so I am guessing the more energy being released the quicker they absorb it." Kisuke said just after kicking his opponent who only flew back a few feet.

"Yes, couldn't have said it better myself, you pathetic Shinigami!" Toshino shouted with excitement. He was the one who attacked Hitsugaya after he released his zanpakuto.

"There you are you bastard!" Ichigo lounged at Toshino, but it was no use; Toshino stepped to the side which caused Ichigo's swing to miss, than Toshino punched Ichigo on the side of his head, causing him to hurtle through the remnants of an already destroyed building.

_This is not going to end well, Kenpachi, Renji, Byakuya, Hitsugaya, and now Ichigo… This keeps on getting worse by the moment. _Kisuke thought to himself as he saw Ichigo's lifeless body lying in the rubble. _Amagi may have not been fighting to kill, but that does not go the same for these guys._ Toshino was laughing at Ichigo's failed attack; Toshino attacked Ichigo while Orihime was healing him, though he was not anywhere close to recovering from his battle with Amagi, Ichigo couldn't allow Toshino to attack Orihime.

"Who is next?" Toshino smirked when he looked over and saw Chad circled by four soldiers, "To easy." Toshino flew directly at them and slammed into the ground behind Chad. Though Chad was quick enough to dodge the first punch, we did not even see Toshino bringing his sword down on him. Chad stammered backwards as he saw his own blood spray from his chest. Suddenly Chad lost his footing and found him-self hurtling across the ground before lost consciousness.

"What the hell Toshino! He was out victim!" One of the exceptionally large and muscular men said as he pointed his spear at Toshino.

"Shut up." Toshino said as he sent a blast of reiatsu around him which cause the four men to disintegrate.

"Toshino, I think you have had enough excitement for the time being," Aku said telepathically to Toshino, "Don't want to kill everyone off too quickly before the main event gets here." Toshino nodded unhappily before disappearing to Aku's side.

No one else was fairing any better. What looks like a little girl of the age of ten was attacking Orihime. The only thing she could do was block the little girl's attacks and run; Orihime just blocked a kick but as she turned to run she tripped. The little girl laughed as she jumped on Orihime's back and commenced slamming her face down on the hard concrete. Just as she was about to make the finishing blow, Rangiku appeared and seeing what was happening, ignored her opponent for a moment and stabbed the little girl in the back all the way down to the hilt. As she pulled her zanpakuto free she kicked the little girl who went flying, and as she did she disintegrated.

_Orihime is alive but unconscious, _Rangiku thought with relief, but not a moment sooner she felt a shearing pain in her arm and felt a warm liquid running down and dripping off her fingertips; she knew exactly what it was. Pulling the throwing knife out of her arm she blindly threw it in the direction from which it came. More throwing knifes were sent at her. The man who was chasing was a kill shot with the throwing knifes but Rangiku was quick enough to dodge them. For how long she doesn't know. She picked up Orihime and ran as fast as she could to get her to safety.

Uryuu found an opponent who was just as skilled with archery as he was. The man's arrows were made up of reishi almost like Uryuu's but his were made for pure destruction. The man sent an arrow at Uryuu's feet and the moment it touched the ground, it exploded. Uryuu launched himself into the air and as he did he returned fire with hundreds of arrows.

"It is no use using those measly things on me!" The man shouted, "Why use a reishi based weapon when all I have to do is absorb it to get stronger?" Uryuu grimaced at the mans words, he was right, he could send a thousand arrows at him and all he would do is stand there and absorb them.

"There has got to be another way." Uryuu muttered as he dodged three consecutive arrows. Until he can figure out what, the most he can do is run and hope he can come up with a plan, and fast. As he ran he looked up and saw Kisuke, Captain Shunsui Kyoraku, and Yoruichi back to back and surrounded by nearly thirty of Aku's soldiers. Uryuu aimed up and shot as many arrows as he could at the soldiers surrounding them. He managed to thin out half of them but still it was not enough.

Hisagi and Kira were in no better shape, though they were on the offensive, they still were out numbered four to one and in the state they were in they wouldn't last much longer. Kira blocked an attack and soon after the soldier collapsed from having his axe tripling in weight by Kira's zanpakuto Wabisuke. Hisagi through one of his blades at another soldier who came up behind Kira, the blade sliced cut deep and the solider disintegrated. Though beaten and bloody they nodded silently before attacking more soldiers. _How much longer can we last?_ Uryuu thought to himself.

Rangiku made it to the river before stopping to catch her breath. She laid Orihime on the ground gently because she was regaining consciousness.

"Rangiku! You're hurt!?" was the first thing she said when she saw her bloody arm.

"I will be fine, just take it easy, alright?" Rangiku said calmly. A large explosion coming from the battlefield caught their attention. They were far enough where they couldn't get caught in the fire but still close enough to see what was happening. From the smoke they saw Kisuke, Shunsui and Yoruichi scatter in different directions closely followed by a large number of soldiers. Orihime gasped in fright as she saw this.

"There you two are!" A voice shouted from behind them. Rangiku rose up her zanpakuto in defense and turned. Quickly lowering her sword she saw Rukia standing there, "I see things are as bad as they seem."

"Worse, they get stronger the longer we fight and the more reiatsu they absorb." Rangiku said softly.

"Well let's go get Ichigo and see if we can wake him, He beat Amagi so I believe he can beat these guys." Rukia said, but Orihime shot her a worried look. Rukia knew that look and she told her to stay while she and Rangiku find him. Orihime nodded and wished them luck.

Orihime felt useless again, all she can do is watch as everyone fought and get hurt. She was contemplating on returning to the battle to see if she could be of any help. Just as she decided that she was going to, a figure walked past her. She didn't get a good enough look but he startled her which caused her to fall backwards.

"Miss Inuoe, stay here, we will have everything taken care of." Lieutenant Sasakibe Chojiro said as he gently put his hand on her shoulder. Surprised to see the Lieutenant from squad one here, she looked over at the figure that startled her and squeaked when she saw who it was.

"The main even is here Toshino." Aku said with an evil smile. He stood up from his throne that was brought from their dimension, "Captain-Commander Yamamato."

"I should have killed you when I had the chance Aku Tatsu." Yamamato said calmly as he appeared in front of Aku.

"Well that is no way to treat your old apprentice!" Aku laughed.


	23. Ch 23 Apprentice & Master

Ch. 23 Apprentice and Master; 100 years of hatred

"I will not tell you this again Aku," Captain-Commander Yamamato said as he stood over Aku as he lay in the soft white sand that made up the floor to the Captain-Commander's personal training room, "defense does not guarantee survival. You need to learn how to be on the offensive. Now get up we are doing this again." Aku slowly stood up and when he did he allowed long get black hair to fall in front of his face. He was badly beaten and bruised, but he continued to push himself.

"Again." Yamamato demanded. Aku bowed and as he straitened up he ran at Yamamato. His first punch was blocked along with his second. Aku than dodged a powerful roundhouse kick before dropping to the ground to swipe Yamamato's feet out from underneath him. The attempt failed but he was still able to drop back as he was nearly kicked in the face. Doing a back flip he was once again on his feet and charging Yamamato. Aku thought he had him this time, so close from becoming the Lieutenant of squad one he could nearly grasp it in his bloody and scarred hand. This thought caused him to loose focus which Yamamato took advantage of. He dropped to his knees just as Aku was swinging his fist. Aku looked down to see the Captain-Commander using both fists to land an extremely powerful punch to his abdomen. The next thing he felt was his body limply slamming into the barrier that was erected around the training room.

"You loose focus to easily Aku," Yamamato said, walking over to Aku, "You must listen to what I have to tell you before you can become my Lieutenant because all you are showing me is how incompetent you are." Aku pushed him self up wincing in pain as he did.

"Sorry Master, I- I am doing all I can."

"Not good enough," Yamamato walked to the door and placed his hand on the wall causing the barrier to dissipate, "Training is done for today. I want you to think about what I have told you."

_I cannot keep going like this_, Aku thought to him self later on as he walked through the forest, outside of the Captain-Commanders private and secret training grounds, _This bastard hates me and I swear he is trying to get me to quite, or worse. _He came to a clearing, looked around and than proceeded to drop to his knees.

"Damn you Yamamato," He cursed aloud, "I have given it my all for the past hundred years and I am still not worthy enough to become you lieutenant? If you choose Chojiro instead, I swear I will kill you!" Yamamato had two apprentices, both competing to become the Lieutenant of the first Squad. Aku may be stronger than Chojiro, but for some odd reason that Aku cannot fathom, Yamamato preferred the latter instead. Every sparring match he had with him, Aku would come out victorious, but when it came to one on one lessons with Yamamato, the Captain-Commander made it seem like it was a chore to train Aku.

Their last leg of training was the hardest for them to endure; no more sparing with bokken, this time it is with real swords. Each must show Yamamato and the Court members that they can utilize their shikai as well as their bankai. The final test arrived quicker than Aku had anticipated. The final test was one last duel with Chojiro; the winner became the lieutenant of squad one and the loser was either killed or if he survived was given the opportunity to become the captain of any squad of his choosing.

"Ready to die Chojiro?" Aku asked as they entered the arena. They were in a flat field some couple of hundred feet in diameter that abruptly ended in a shear rock wall that extended another hundred feet in the air. Chojiro only nodded than proceeded to bow.

"tsk, pathetic." Aku mumbled.

"You may begin!" A voice boomed out across the field. Aku, not having the patience to wait for an opening, charged at Chojiro. Keeping his eyes closed he stepped to the side just before Aku reached him; he was followed by a quick and very precise slash down his back. Aku was too infuriated with being allowed to fight Chojiro that he didn't even notice how deep the cut was. Charging again, their swords made contact. There was such tremendous force behind both zanpakutos that sparks showered the two of them. Breaking the stalemate Aku quickly pressed in for another attack. Again it resulted in a locking of zanpakutos. In an attempt to gain the advantage, Aku tried kicking Chojiro in the knee.

Aku found himself being yanked forward into Chojiro's waiting elbow, followed by being thrown away like a rag doll. His anger was gaining the better of him, every attack Aku attempted ended in being either kicked or punched than sent flying in every direction.

"Aku, how could you forget all of Master Yamamato's training?"

"I have not forgotten it, he always told me to go for the offensive."

"Has your anger really clouded your judgment? I do not recall throwing yourself at your opponent being considered offensive fighting."

"Just shut up and die so I can become Lieutenant!" Aku shouted in anger, "I awaken you-"

"No, this is how you fail." Aku gasped as Chojiro appeared next to him. Chojiro slashed at Aku, spraying blood everywhere; _how the hell is this possible?_ Aku thought to himself as he collapsed. He lay there in the grass in a pool of his own blood and went over the events that just happened. He could not figure out why and how he lost so easily and so quickly against a measly man like Chojiro. The fight is over and he lost; Chojiro is now the Lieutenant of squad one and Aku has nothing. Aku closed his eyes and lost consciousness.

"Leave now!" Yamamato demanded pointing his zanpakuto at Aku, "You have disgraced me and my training because of your actions!" Weeks later Aku had regained his strength and was healed from his wounds from the duel. In his rage, Aku had attempted to assassinate Chojiro in his sleep but ultimately failed.

"Oh, I am sorry master!" Aku shouted, pointing his own zanpakuto at him, "I am sorry that I had my dreams taken from me from before my eyes and cast into the dirt!" Chojiro joined in and appeared behind Aku.

"This is not the place and time Aku." Chojiro said coolly.

"You are right," Aku glared at them both, "the day will come when YOU will have to pay for what you have put me through."

"Aku-"Yamamato started to say but was cut off by Aku, "No! Shut up you old bastard, I will let you live now, but remember the next time you see me I will have you on your knees begging for me to spare your pathetic life. At that moment I will laugh and have you watch as I kill every single soul in the Seireitei. After that I will make sure you live so the deaths of everyone will be on YOUR shoulders."

"When that day comes, Aku, I will not hesitate to kill you."

"Than let it be settled than Master! You and me. Fight to the death. I will show you who should be at your side!" Chojiro lunged at Aku but missed. Aku jumped through the ceiling and darted across the roof tops in the Seireitei. _Don't forget that when the next time we meet Old Man, _Aku thought to him self as he disappeared into the world that surrounded the Seireitei never to be seen or heard from again. He was alone until he found Nia sixty five years later than Amagi another ten after.

One hundred and ten years of hatred boiled to the surface when Captain-Commander Yamamato appeared in front of his throne that he had brought from his dimension into the World of the Living.

"You may have been my apprentice at one point, Aku," Yamamato said harshly, "but you disgraced me and I have nothing to do with what you did."

"Is that so," Aku said glaring at Yamamato.

"It is, and now I demand you stop this adolescent rage and go back from hence you came."

"Aw well I am sorry to say that I am here to stay," Aku smirked, "This is my new home!"

The fighting had stopped; Rangiku and Rukia had found Ichigo and Chad and helped them to where Orihime waited by the river. The others, Urahara, Hisagi, Kira, Yoruichi, Uryuu, and Kyoraku regrouped but could not believe what was happening; had they heard Aku and Yamamato correctly?

"So I guess Aku was the missing person in that duel a century ago." Urahara murmured.

"What duel?" Kira asked looking over at him.

"One hundred and ten years ago two Shinigami were competing to become the next Lieutenant of Squad one." Urahara explained, "The final test was a duel between the two candidates, but something happened and all data had been erased on the second candidate."

"Well if Aku was the second, than who was the first?" Uryuu asked as he pushed up his glasses with his index finger.

"I was." Sasakibe Chojiro said as he walked up behind them


	24. Ch 24 Captain-Commander joins the fight

Ch 24 Captain-Commander Joins the fight

A strong gust of wind blew through the ruins of Karakura Town. Most of the downtown area was obliterated in the fight the Shinigami had with Amagi, and the rest is following suite with the fight that rages on between Aku and Captain-Commander Yamamato. Though only Yamamato and his Lieutenant knew that this was not the real Karakura Town; they had deployed devises that were still in their testing phase.

Aku and Yamamato traded turns throwing kicks, and punches. Every move the two made was a continual stalemate. Also to every ones surprise and horror, Yamamato refused to wield his zanpakuto, stating that it is not necessary. The question that arises from that is how long can he holds out with Aku who only seems to be getting stronger with every minute that passes.

"Why? Why is he not using his zanpakuto?" Ichigo asked as he regained consciousness. After Yamamato had arrived he ordered every one to stay by the river to heal and regain their strength.

"Captain-Commander made it clear before we left that all he has to do is hold out for as long as possible." Lieutenant Sasakibe Chojiro said with a straight face as they saw the silhouette of Yamamato falling from the sky and slamming into the ground at a subsonic speed.

"What the hell kind of thinking is that?" Ichigo added, "He may be able to hold is own the way that he is but the bastard is an expert at hand to hand!"

"That may be so," Kisuke Urahara said putting a hand on Ichigo's shoulder, "But Yamamato must believe there is something else going to happen." _Just something is not right with this though, _he thought as he looked in the direction of Amagi's lifeless body. Through out the fighting and the endless onslaught of impact shockwaves, his body has not moved in inch; he is still in the same spot when Ichigo defeated him protected by some barrier.

"I thought this would be more of a challenge Old Man." Aku said as he silently landed next to Yamamato who was pushing himself up off the ground. Aku reached out to grab him but before he could Yamamato grabbed his wrist and yanked him forward. As Yamamato did so, he kneed Aku in the jaw, causing him to be jettisoned into the sky. Using Shunpo, Yamamato reappeared next to Aku and kicked him in the side. Aku was sent careening in the opposite direction.

"HA!" Aku laughed, wiping away the blood from his mouth. He slammed into the ground just moments before but that did not seem to faze him, "Still got some fight left in you I see." Aku pointed his index finger at the Captain-Commander. Suddenly a ball of crimson red reishi and continued to grow. Aku smirked as he released it.

"A bala." Yamamato said quietly as he allowed himself to drop from the sky, softly landing on the ground he looked up to see the ball frozen. Quizzically Yamamato watched the bala suddenly pulsate and implode on itself. As it reached a critical size it suddenly reversed the implosion and started pulling any loose chunk of debris towards it. And entire skeleton of an apartment complex was pulled up from the ground and the moment it touched the growing sphere it broke apart into single particales of reishi and was absorbed. Suddenly to massive sphere dropped from the sky and slammed into the ground. The resulting explosion was immense; nothing could possibly have survived let alone have their remains found. The Shinigami and humans present had to flee from the shockwave. They ended up in a rural district on the outskirts of the city, which made it hard for them to see the events unfolding back at the site of the impact.

The dust and smoke began to slowly dissipate. When it did it a massive crater was reveled. It would have been impossible to have somehow survived the explosion. Though, miraculously a figure stood at the epicenter of the explosion, surrounded by a sphere of fire. Aku content with his handy work and was smirking at the destruction suddenly realized that it had failed to do what it was intended for.

"How the hell?" Aku said jumping up from his throne which he had went to during the attack. With a loud bang he broke the sound barrier and launched himself towards the center of the crater.

"You lucky old bastard." Aku said as he stopped a good distance away from the sphere of fire, which dissipated revealing the Captain-Commander. His back was severely burned from the explosion and his Shihakusho had been charred at the edges. Even with his wounds, Yamamato was still standing and still able to fight. His zanpakuto drawn Yamamato pointed the tip of the blade at Aku.

"Even with all the power you possess, you will still die by my blade."

"Than so be it!" Aku laughed and drew his own zanpakuto. As he did it transformed into a massive battle axe, "Like my new shikai Yamamato?" The immense size of Aku's axe made Yamamato's katana- like zanpakuto look like a twig. Before Aku could make the first move, Yamamato jumped forward and struck out at him. As the blade of the axe and zanpakuto made contact a blast of air eradicated outward. Yamamato pushed off Aku but before he could land, Aku charged at him. He brought down the extremely heavy axe down on Yamamato. Dodging it, Yamamato slashed out with his zanpakuto, but he was met with the blunt, blub like end of the axe. The force behind the impact shattered a few of Yamamato's ribs and sent him rocketing skyward.

Aku appeared above Yamamato and swung the axe. Ultimately it, grabbing hold of the axe blade, Yamamato spun around kicked Aku in the back of the head. Both of them moved with tremendous speed, it was hard for the others to keep track of what was happening.

"This is crazy." Hisagi said as they followed the trail to where Aku had slammed into the ground, "At this rate Captain-Commander is going to tire himself out while that bastard just keeps on getting stronger."

"What ever he is planning, it won't end to well." Shunsui murmured, he was growing frustrated with just sitting there. Though he was not the only one, but their orders were clear; they were to not interfere. Since Ichigo is only a substitute Shinigami, he could disobey that order; he is still not even remotely recovered from his injuries so he is not an option. The situation seems to be getting grimmer by the minute and everyone knows this.

"If you were wise, Aku," Captain-Commander Yamamato stood over Aku, "you would give up now and leave." Aku only laughed as he pushed himself out of the rubble that collapsed around him and stood up.

"Well let's just say I am not that wise than," He looked around for his axe but it was no where in sight, "cause lets face it, I learned that from the best." Aku quickly jumped at Yamamato. The attack was so sudden and quick that Yamamato had little time to react. Though it was not a punch or a kick, Aku tackled Yamamato and upon slamming into the ground, Aku car-wheeled and regained his feet, leaving the Captain-Commander lying on the ground.

With a series of deadly stomps, Yamamato found him self being slammed deeper and deeper into the soft dirt that was underneath the street and is now been uncovered. On the last stomp, the Captain-Commander grabbed Aku's foot and twisted with all his strength. Aku was sent spinning into the air. As Aku landed on his back, Yamamato jumped to his feet and was quickly hovering over him with his zanpakuto pointing at Aku's throat.

"Give up now."

"Why should I? The fun is just beginning!" Aku swatted away the tip of the blade and as he did that, he kicked Yamamato in the knee. The force of the kick was enough to dislocate his knee. Catching the Captain-Commander off guard, Aku jumped up and punched him in the side of the head. He swung again making Yamamato even more disorientated. With each blow, Yamamato staggered and nearly lost his balance.

"And you were telling ME to give up!?" Aku laughed as he punched Yamamato in the stomach, and as he keeled over, was kicked in the head. Yamamato tumbled and rolled across the ground until he slammed into a pile of cinder blocks from an office building. On his hands and knees, he slowly rose out from the rubble, keeping his eyes closed he waited for Aku's next kick. It never came. He looked over at Aku and saw that he had found his zanpakuto. Expecting Aku to use it on him, Yamamato was surprised to see that Aku had slide the sword along the ground.

"Pick it up," The Captain-Commander only watched Aku, "This is getting boring beating up some defenseless old man." Yamamato still said and did nothing.

"I said pick it up!" Aku yelled as he walked over and kicked him in the face.

"And why should I do that?" Captain-Commander Yamamato said as he again rose up on his hands and knees, eyeing his zanpakuto still lying next to him.

"I want you to release you Shikai and fight me."

"Hm. Seems fair enough for me." Yamamato said as he reached out, picked up his zanpakuto while he stood up. Knowing that even with his zanpakuto being released, he was still now match for Aku; he bared only minor injuries compared to Yamamato's own battered and burned body. He did not know how much longer he could hold out like this, but if activating his Shikai could spare him enough time, he was willing to do it.

"Bansho issai kaijin to nase (reduce all creation to ash)." Yamamato calmly said. As he reiatsu rose sharply he was suddenly surrounded by flames that erupted from his zanpakuto, Ryujin Jakka. _It must be done, _he thought to himself as he closed his eyes.


	25. Ch 25 Awakened

Ch. 25 Awakened

The sky had turned black from the fires that began after Captain-Commander Yamamato released his shikai. _I must hold out for as long as I can. He better live up to his word. _Yamamato thought to him self as he watched Aku closely. Flames licked off his zanpakuto as he stood with it at his side. Aku's steel axe hung over his shoulder. He seemed too relaxed and this worried Yamamato. But before Yamamato could say anything, Aku used shunpo and appeared next to him. Aku swung his massive axe but Yamamato was able to deflect the blow, which sent sparks and flames erupting in all directions. Jumping back, Aku was put on the defensive. Yamamato charged him and with each swing of his zanpakuto, the flames on it roared and every strike showered both Aku and Yamamato with sparks and fire.

The Captain-Commander was aware that the more reiatsu he put out, the stronger Aku would become; he knew early on in the fight that Aku feeds off other people's power. It was decided early on that no matter how much reiatsu released, he was going to do his best on holding off Aku, even if it results in his own demise. Yamamato raised his zanpakuto over his head to block one of Aku's counter attacks. Having his axe being pushed off, Aku lost his balance momentarily but it was long enough for Yamamato to close in his attacks. He jumped into the air and kicked him in the head. As Aku was sent flying across the ground, Yamamato pursued him and had his zanpakuto poised ready to stab him. Just as he was about to, Yamamato was struck in the back with a blunt object that exploded on contact.

"Don't forget about me Aku, I am growing bored watching you two old men having all the fun."

"Toshino, I told you to not interfere!" Aku yelled at the man you attacked Yamamato.

"I know, but I just did save your life!" Toshino laughed as he folded his arms across his chest. Yamamato pushed him self out of the dirt and looked to see Toshino standing there.

"That you did, but now you can go play with those other Shinigami," Aku smirked, "I think they are growing bored as well."

"That is an enticing thought boss!" Toshino smirked as he turned and disappeared in the direction of the river, itching for a fight.

"This isn't right," Ichigo thought aloud again.

"What isn't?" Yoruichi asked with her arms folded, not breaking her gaze in the direction of the fires that were ablaze from the Captain-Commanders released zanpakuto.

"Yamamato cannot beat that guy alone, he is just too strong, and besides, if he is the leader of those people, than I am sure he has the same ability as they do."

"You may be right Ichigo." Urahara butted in.

"But you also have to remember about Yamamato, he can hold his own, no matter what the circumstance may be." Sasakibe Chojiro said growing impatient with Ichigo.

Rangiku had completely blocked out what was happening around her, she was too deep in thought. She was thinking about what Amagi said to her the first time the encountered each other here in the World of the Living. She remembered him saying_ I only made you think that so you would move on with your life and not be stuck on me. I know I shouldn't have done that to you, but I am sorry, I think it was the right thing to do._ He was not the monster she thought he had become; he was still Amagi no matter what was going through his mind up until the end.

"There you are!" Everyone jumped and turned around to Toshino standing on top of a light post.

"It's you!" Ichigo shouted reaching for his zanpakuto but winced in pain, his wounds were still not fully healed by Orihime. Rangiku was the first to react. She drew her zanpakuto and without a word charged at him. He dodged every swing, though he had the advantage he did not strike back.

"I like your style Rangiku." Toshino said as he grabbed the blade of her zanpakuto, his yellow eyes sparkled as he gazed at her.

"How the hell do you know my name?"

"Amagi told me a lot about you," She tried to break away but he was so much stronger than she was, and he began to pull her closer to him, "You are far more beautiful in person." He had an ominous look about him as he suddenly reached out and grabbed for Rangiku's throat. His movement was faster than she could react. He raised her above his head as he squeezed his hand tighter around her throat. The others had pulled their zanpakutos and had them ready to strike Toshino.

"Look at them." Toshino said as he spun her around and pulled her close to him so she was facing her friends; he had her zanpakuto across her chest and the sharp blade pointing just inches from her throat. She was horrified, but no one knew what to do. Any advance on him would result in Toshino slicing Rangiku's throat open without hesitation.

"This is so heart warming," Toshino said whispering into Rangiku's ear, "They come to their friends' aid and are willing to die to save you." He rubbed his cheek on hers. She began to shake from fear; she could only imagine what Orihime felt when Amagi did this to her. With that thought she closed her eyes tight and expected the worse to happen, but before anything else could happen, an explosion caused everyone to turn around to where Aku and Yamamato were fighting.

"He just activated his shikai's special ability!" Kira shouted and pointed. Massive pillars of fire erupted from the ground, turning the darkened sky even darker.

"Only means their fight will be ending soon," Toshino smirked at the sight. Toshino's comment made them worried.

"I don't think so!" A voice said, by the time everyone turned back to Toshino they saw that he had disappeared and Rangiku laid on the ground shaking.

"Are you ok Rangiku?" Orihime shouted as she ran over to her.

"I have no idea, all I know is I heard this voice and I dropped to the ground," Rangiku realized what happened and looked around in shock, "where did he go?" She gasped when she recognized the voice and figured out what happened.

The pillars of fire were still closing in on Aku and Yamamato, but the Captain-Commander was in no condition to fight anymore; he lay in a small crater that was filling with his own blood. Aku had slashed Yamamato's back with his axe just moments before.

"I do believe this is the end of the line for you Master." Aku grabbed him by the arm and dragged him out of the blood filled crater. Yamamato coughed up blood as Aku flipped him on his back. The pain was too much for him to handle. His shattered knee finally gave in as well; leaving him immobilized which in turn allowed Aku to deliver the near death blow to his back.

"Even if you kill me, there will be no way you that you will survive when those pillars close in on you." Yamamato spoke softly; he did not have much strength left in him.

"Does not matter, I have spent decades dreaming of this day, and now it is finally here!" Aku laughed rising up his arms in triumph. The heat from the fire slowly became more intense, but Aku did not even notice.

"With the death of the Captain-Commander I will bring the destruction to the rest of the Seireitei and the Gotei 13! I will show no mercy to any one!" He looked down at Yamamato who was slowly loosing consciousness. He brought up the massive axe over his head and held it, waiting and anticipating the final blow that will end Yamamato's life.

"Have any final words?" he asked. He took a step forward to begin the motion of bringing down his axe.

"NO!" A figure suddenly appeared in front of Aku. This caught them both by surprise. As Aku tried to block as much of the sunlight that shone in his eyes, he could not identify the figure. Suddenly, who ever it was jumped at him and kicked him in the face. The force behind the kick was incredible and sent Aku flying at a super sonic speed. Just as he was about to hit the ground, he felt something grab his foot. The next thing that happened was that he found himself going in the opposite direction and the force from the almost instantaneous and random change in direction at the high speed caused him to momentarily blackout.

Aku was slammed into the ground. The impact of the ground cause it to fracture and split in every direction. The figure jumped into the air and shot a dozen or so small spheres of deep blue reiatsu, each exploding on contact.

"That will keep him down for a while." The man said as he landed over Yamamato, he knelt over and placed a hand on his chest. Suddenly with a flash, Yamamato found himself laying on the remnants of a street looking up at the faces of his subordinates. They were still trying to figure out what happened to Toshino, and now suddenly the Captain-Commander appeared in front of them. They were more confused than ever. They only became more confused when a deep blue beam shot across the sky. The beam exploded, temporarily outshining the low hanging sun.

"Th-this reiatsu…" Tears filled Rangiku's eyes, "its Amagi!"

"Amagi?" they all nearly said in unison.

"Yes, Amagi," Yamamato sputtered as he lost consciousness.

"But… how?" Ichigo said softly, "I know what I did."

"I told you it would take more than that to kill me Ichigo." A figure slammed into the ground some distance in front of them. Another followed, but he descended slowly until vanished into the cloud of dust. He smirked as he saw Ichigo's reaction when he took a step out from within it, "and I am sure you did not believe me either." Amagi laughed at their expressions.

"It is you!" Rangiku jumped to her feet and ran at him, nearly knocking him over when she jumped in his arms.

"Yes, it's me Rangiku." Amagi whispered into Rangiku's ear and returned her hug.


	26. Ch 26 Revelations

Ch 26 Revelations

The sun shone a deep red when it rose above the horizon; a new day has begun. Haze from the fires that still scattered the remnants of Karakura Town made the usual yellow sun looked ominous and un-inviting. Still holding onto Rangiku, Amagi looked from Rukia to Uryuu, than to Shunsui, Urahara, Yoruichi and than to Hisagi as well as Kira. He noted the anger in Ichigo's eyes, as well as the fear in Orihime's. Amagi felt guilty when he realized the rest of them; Renji, Byakuya, Kenpachi, Hitsugaya, and now Chad were wounded severely and were slowly recovering. Something about Urahara's demeanor was off and Amagi knew some idea was racing though his head. Amagi acted upon it before Kisuke Urahara's imagination got the better of him.

"You know Urahara, I can just save you the head-ache and tell you what happened," Amagi joked, smiling calmly at him.

"Yes, please I do believe this invites a rather thorough explanation," Uryuu butted in, his interest had immediately been peaked by the possibilities.

"First things first," Amagi looked back at Rangiku, and she smiled up at him, "I am sorry I put everyone through this. I am especially sorry for losing control for a while there and nearly killed Kenpachi and Byakuya, they did not deserve what I did to them. They were only following out their orders. I do not blame them if they hate me. Just let them know that ok? Orihime, please forgive me, I did not mean to scare you like I did; you are such a kind person and did not deserve that. Ichigo, take care of her better, trust me on this, it is absolutely horrible and devastating loosing someone that means so much to you like that." Their expressions said it all; shock and bewilderment, that the man who was just trying to kill them hours before is now apologizing to them.

"Also, Yoruichi," Amagi continued, "you will always be a sister to me, no matter what, ok?" She smiled and nodded. Rukia did not know how to interpret what was happening, she was still trying to get over the fact that he tried to kill her Hisagi and Kira. They two stood in bewilderment.

"Amagi Mitsuko," Captain-Commander Yamamato said as his lieutenant helped him to his feet, "somehow you contacted me and informed me of what was happening. Why did you do that as well as why did you do what you did?" Amagi ever so slightly nodded to Rangiku and she took a step back and crossed her arms across her chest.

"Well," Amagi could not help but hide the sorrow that showed as he spoke, "the why I did what I did is complicated and would require a long sad, depressing history. Not sure anyone would really want to hear it. But I informed you because you are the only one who could have held up against Aku for as long as you did. He has become a power hungry monster and it has gotten to his head, I knew with your past with him, he would put all his focus and attention on you and not on anyone else."

"I see," Yamamato said before whispering to Chojiro and the two began to walk away.

"Before you go," Amagi called out, "I am sorry for what happened those many decades ago."

"Those crimes that you were suspected and sentenced for," Yamamato said harshly, "are no longer valid." He once again turned but this time the door to the Seireitei appeared in front of him. It slide open and he disappeared into it. Amagi was shocked, the thought of having all charges suddenly gone was too much to fathom.

"Please, tell us what happened to you," Yoruichi said softly, the look of anticipation fueled the desire to know the truth, "why did you lose control?"

"I met someone," Amagi began, recalling every moment he spent with Nia, "she was practically the only reason why I teamed up with Aku, if I had not fallen for her the moment I laid eyes on her, I probably would have just returned here."

"What was she like?" Rangiku thought aloud, she tried to stop herself but it was too late.

"To be honest, she was a lot like you Rangiku," Amagi said smiling, "strong, beautiful, and intelligent, as well as head strong. Oh, and I cannot forget stubborn." Amagi remembered when he confessed his feelings to Nia, and how she asked what about her that made him fall for her. He gave her the best answer he could, and to his surprise she felt the same way. Rangiku felt a wave of jealousy about this woman that had Amagi's heart, but than shook it off in remembrance that she too had found another in his absence, but she could not help but feel somewhat jealous.

"Would be nice if I could meet her," Rangiku muttered, but wish she had not because of the look he gave her; it was a mix of sorrow and anger.

"Sadly, it is not possible," Amagi noted quietly, lowering his gaze down to the rubble at his feet. The many years of not being able to express his emotions finally took its toll. He let the tears building up behind his eyes go and felt them run down his checks and drip off his chin. They felt bad, but only Urahara moved closer to comfort him.

"Let me guess," Urahara said bitterly, "Aku and Toshino did not like how close you had gotten with her and decided to double cross you by taking her away from you." Amagi nodded, which caused some startled remarks from some of the Shinigami.

"Do you mean…" Orihime started to say but was cut off by Amagi, "Yes they killed her in front of me after Toshino knocked me unconscious, than turned around and blamed her death on my incompetence. It was not until after you defeated me Ichigo that I was able to see the truth and break out of their trance they had me in."

"So what are you planning to do now Amagi?" Rangiku asked, she wanted to comfort him but thought it would be best if she did not.

"There is only one logical thing for me to do," Amagi snarled between gritted teeth, he regained his composure and was looking over his shoulder at a figure that just stood up out of the rubble, "to kill Aku and Toshino and set everything right." Yoruichi noticed what he was looking at but did not have enough time to say anything before Amagi spoke again.

"I know this is not the real Karakura Town, so I won't be holding out any, so I want everyone to leave and take refuge in the Seireitei."

"Don't you think you will need some help though? I mean, Yamamato was not able to defeat Aku." Captain Shunsui questioned Amagi's demand.

"No, these two will deal with me and me alone," Amagi's reiatsu began to rise sharply. As it did the wind changed direction and began to gain momentum, "I don't want anyone else getting hurt because of me, ok? So please, I think it would be best that you take Kenpachi and the other wounded now. Be quick about it too. I will see everyone again soon." He gave them no warning before he was instantly gone. In his wake was a massive outburst of pressure causing them to be pushed outward.

"Be careful Amagi," Rangiku spoke so softly no one else heard her.

"Well by the looks of it, I think he is right," Shunsui said replacing his straw hat on his head, "things will get pretty hairy fairly quick."

"Yes he is right," Urahara agreed.

"Ah damn! I missed the fight!" Kenpachi shouted as he appeared next to them caring a still unconscious Byakuya over his right shoulder. Renji was directly behind him caring Hitsugaya. Though getting close to being fully healed, they still were heavily bandaged and surprisingly enough ,they were able to move without problems. Everyone gathered as a large door appeared in front of them. It slid open and a bright light shown through. One by one they entered the door. Ichigo hoisted Chad's limp body over his shoulder and took a step through the gate, leaving Orihime as the last person there.

"I may not be able to forget it, but I do forgive you for what you did, and I do believe everyone else does as well, so please, for the sake of the girl and for every one else, beat them." Her final words she spoke before she entered the gate were fierce and blunt, she did not care if Amagi heard them or not, she felt better saying them aloud. As she stepped through the gate, it silently slid shut behind her and vanished.

"Toshino," Amagi said sharply as he materialized behind him," I cannot allow for either you or Aku to live, so it ends here."


	27. Ch 27 Redemption

Ch 27 Redemption

Toshino pushed himself off the ground to where he was sitting on his knees. He was not sure exactly what happened but was absolutely positive that Amagi is not dead.

"Damn, what the hell just happened?" Toshino asked aloud, not expecting a response.

"I am surprised you survived that one Shino," Amagi said standing over Toshino as he sat there looking at the blood on his hands.

"Good to see that you're alive Mitsu," Toshino said, standing up and looked into his emerald green eyes," so what was the big idea on doing that? I thought we were on the same team."

"Sorry, I don't side myself with people who betray their own." Amagi said, placing his hand on the hilt of his zanpakuto. He glared at Toshino through his long light brown hair; his emerald eyes bright and fierce. Toshino was taken aback by how Amagi was acting.

"Well, we wouldn't have had to kill off your little bitch of a woman if she was not trying to brainwash you into leaving us for her," Toshino said standing up, a fury started to build in his yellow eyes.

"Actually, I think it was you and Aku that did the brainwashing," Amagi said in a-matter-of-fact tone, "I know that you and Aku plotted to kill Nia and claim she died because I was incompetent."

"Wow, you sure are the smart one Mitsu," Toshino chuckled eerily.

"I realized something Shino," Amagi said tightening his grip on the hilt of his zanpakuto, "You are pathetic and weak."

"What was that you worthless bastard!" Toshino roared.

"I may be worthless, but at least I do not take advantage of people like you do." Amagi's word struck the right nerve. Toshino quickly whipped out his zanpakuto and jumped at Amagi. He swung his zanpakuto as hard as he could but Amagi somehow blocked it without moving an inch. Startled by what happened, he swung again which only ended in the same results.

"That all you have Shino?" Amagi edged Toshino, making him more furious. As Toshino pressed in his attacks and became very persistent.

"What the hell do you think you're doing?" Toshino shouted as he swung the short blade of his zanpakuto down. Amagi turned to the side and allowed the blade to pass harmlessly past him. As the blade went past, Amagi planted a quick and brutal punch to the side of Toshino's head, catching him off guard and sending him hurtling into the ground at near supersonic speeds. The ground was already dotted with far too many craters from similar impacts. Amagi knew that Toshino would not go down without a fight, no matter how much stronger he was than him. This was made certain when a golden yellow beam of reishi blasted towards him. Amagi did not move a muscle and when the beam hit him, it split and curled around him. He closed his eyes and smirked as Toshino sent two more beams at him which ended the same each time. The fourth time Amagi used his sonikku(sonic) shunpou and instantly materialized in front of Toshino, again catching him completely by surprise.

"How the hell," Toshino stammered wide eyed at Amagi who stood there still resting his left hand on the hilt of his zanpakuto.

"It's easy Toshino," Amagi smirked, "being as weak as you my reiatsu alone deflect your attacks." Something snapped in Toshino, he stared wildly at Amagi and his reiatsu rose dramatically. _Yes that's it you bastard, just a bit more, _Amagi thought to himself.

"I should have killed you as well that day Amagi," Toshino glared at Amagi psychotically, "but no, Boss said to let you live, that you were necessary. Necessary for what I asked him, but no, he would not say! So now it is time for you to die!"

"What were you really trying to accomplish that day Toshino?" Amagi asked casualy.

"Well, in all honesty, if I could not have Nia, than I decided that no one could," As he said that he shot into the sky like a rocket with a golden yellow tail. As he stopped a ball of light began to form above him. It shone nearly as bright as the early morning sun. Soon after beams of light started eradiating off the slowly growing sphere and everything they touched disintegrated.

"Taiyo furea(solar flare)!" Toshino shouted and the sphere began to pulsate. With each pulsation, the beams ejecting off became larger and more numerous. On the fifth and final pulsation the sphere blasted outward, everything it came into contact with burned up and fell into the sphere that closely resembled the surface of the Sun. It engulfed Amagi and when it did, it suddenly imploded in on itself and exploded, lighting up the sky in a brilliant white light. Upon regaining his sight, Toshino looked around him for any signs of Amagi. Any remaining building or skeleton of one was gone. The only visible features that could be seen where the distant mountains; not even a single pile of rubble remained. Toshino was on the verge of laughing in his success when something caught his eye. When he waved his arm to the figure it disappeared and rematerialized in front of him.

"Boss, I think I killed…" His words were cut short when he felt a sharp pain shoot through his body.

"Pathetic Toshino," Aku said as he his axe splitting Toshino in half, spraying blood everywhere, "Amagi was right though, you have always been weak. Only kept you around as my pet, a loyal pet that did what I wanted no matter what." Toshino could not believe what happened; his own boss, Aku, turned against him. _But why?_ Toshino thought as his limp body hit the soft dirt. _I did everything you wanted, why kill me? You said we would rule this world, side by side, than, what did I do wrong?_ Toshino closed his eyes and allowed the memories to flow.

"You, kid," Aku had called over to a younger Toshino when they first met. He and Amagi went through a sparing match whom Amagi came out victorious, "I like your style, what's your name?" He looked over at the old man in the hood and saw Amagi standing next to him with that smirk of his. Next to him was the most beautiful woman he had ever seen, Nia.

"Th-the name is Toshino Kasoni," he said shyly.

"How about you join us?" Aku asked with an out stretched hand. Toshino nodded.

"Oh shit so I guess you and I will be business partners than?" Toshino had asked shaking hands with Amagi.

"Apparently so, but that does not mean we have to stop our little rivalry now does it?" Amagi asked.

"Dumb boys, always gotta see who has the most testosterone flowing." Nia had joked, punching Toshino in the arm lightly. At first the three had become close friends, but eventually Toshino's jealousy of Amagi being with Nia overtook him; the simple friendly rivalry had turned into a full blown hatred. This hatred arised and became over powering the closer Nia got with Amagi, and when Aku came to Toshino about them leaving, he became furious. He truly believed that if he could not have Nia, that no one could; Amagi did not deserve to call her his own.

"I'm sorry Nia," Toshino said softly, coming to from the death blow, "I'm sorry Amagi." Tears filled his eyes as he realized how foolish he had been; Aku did not care about anyone but himself and was using him, just like how he used poor Nia to get control of Amagi and his immense powers. He let his hatred and jealousy get the best of him. He smiled when he remembered when the three of them would joke around and longed for those days; no more hatred, no more jealousy. With one final breath, Toshino slipped away.

"I knew you were a conniving bastard, Aku," Amagi said kneeling over Toshino's lifeless body he had appeared just moments before to witness Toshino being slashed, "but that was even lower than what your standards are." _Sleep well my friend, some day we will have to have a sparring duel again, _Amagi thought looking back at Toshino and placed his hand on his head. Amagi than stood up and drew his zanpakuto and proceeded on pointing the tip at Aku.

"Someone means business," Aku laughed, resting the shaft of his axe on his shoulder.

"That may be so," Amagi said holding his ground staring down Aku," but let me ask you a question."

"Oh," Aku said startled by the stern tone in Amagi's voice," and what might this question be?"

"Where is she?" Amagi asked quickly.

"Where is who?" Aku smiled devilishly at him.

"You know you." Amagi said frustrated with Aku's defiance.

"Well, if you really must know." Aku's spine shivering smile went from ear to ear as he raised up his hand and snapped his fingers. Just than the sky tore open. With in that tear stood a woman with long blood red hair and light blue eyes. Her face was expressionless and her eyes were emotionless; _I can only guess that this is what I looked like when I was lost, _Amagi thought to himself as he stared.

"Nia Utsukushii," Amagi finally said, watching as she dropped from the now closed hole in the sky and softly landed next to Aku.


	28. Ch 28 Lost Love

Ch 28 Lost love

"Damn it! Why can't we assist Amagi?" Ichigo yelled in anger at the screen in front of him.

"Calm down Ichigo," Urahara said calmly. They were in an observation room that was filled with screens that gave everyone in it different views of the fighting.

"Getting yourself worked up about this won't help any," Yoruichi said putting her hand on Ichigo's shoulder.

"Yeah but I can't just sit here and watch this," Ichigo sounded desperate, "it's two against one! That's not fair to Amagi!"

"And than ten verses one was?" Uryuu said teasingly. This only enraged Ichigo.

"That was different!" Ichigo turned and shouted.

"How so?" Orihime joined in the teasing.

"I-I don't know," Ichigo said, sounding defeated.

"How come you don't know?" Rangiku asked walking into the room, unaware of everyone mocking Ichigo.

"Not you to Rangiku!" Ichigo said depressingly.

"Oh, who is that gorgeous girl Amagi is about to fight?" Captain Shunsui said walking in the room and seeing the screens.

"Everyone be quiet!" Urahara yelled at all the ruckus everyone was making.

"Don't know but she is gorgeous," Rangiku acknowledged.

"Yes that she is!" Renji shouted entering the now overly crowded room.

"Her hair flows majestically in the wind, like cherry blossoms." The words sent chills down everyone's spine as Byakuya snuck in, his arm in a sling from his fight with Amagi.

"Actually, I do believe I found some information on her," Urahara said wearily, watching Byakuya for his eerily silent entrance and Rangiku for about what he was about to say, "Her name is Nia Utsukushii , was Amagi's most recent girl up until a few years ago when she disappeared from record." Jealousy shot across Rangiku's face, _so that is the girl you were mentioning, she is gorgeous. Man makes me jealous,_ she thought to herself as she gazed at Nia on the screen.

"She may have the body, amazing eyes and hair, but at least I have these amazing boobs!" Rangiku laughed pressing her breasts together showing off more cleavage than normal, "no man can resist these!"

"Rangiku, that do you think you are doing?" Toshiro said as he walked up behind Rangiku, nearly recovered from his wounds but still needed the bandages. Rangiku sighed and released her chest, _no man can resist these, but I have to emphasize on the man part, Captain Hitsugaya is not man. _The boy stood with his hands in his pockets, not paying attention to Rangiku's childish manner.

"I wonder what will happen between the two of them," Captain Kenpachi asked curiously pushing his way past everyone to get a better view of the screens.

"How did you know that she was still alive?" Aku asked curiously as he stood looking between Amagi and Nia. A gentle wind blew across the barren wasteland that was once a replica of Karakura Town. Nia's long red hair blew across her face, partially concealing the blank, emotionless glare. The only sound that followed was Amagi's black overly large clothes rustling.

"Nia," Amagi whispered not breaking his gaze, she was as beautiful as he remembered. But the way she presented herself now screamed that things did not seem as they were; the Nia in front of him now could not be Nia, could it?

"You never answered me," Aku said persistently, "how did you know she was alive?"

"I have my sources," Amagi grumbled in annoyance with Aku's constant interruption of his thoughts.

"Well, so be it than, does not matter to me how you knew already," Aku smirked as he took a step back, "does not change the fact that she will kill you." Nia looked over her shoulder at Aku who nodded to her.

"Do what you please, Nia, finish him off." Aku waved his had to her and suddenly vanished leaving Amagi and Nia alone. .

"Nia," Amagi took a step forward, "please listen to me! What ever Aku has told you, it is a lie! He is evil and should not be trusted. Please, come back to me." His words went unheard, she drew her zanpakuto and immediately began running at Amagi at a break neck speed. Amagi stood his ground, not drawing his own zanpakuto. At the last possible moment, just before Nia moved her zanpakuto to cut at him, Amagi took a step to the side, grabbed her by the collar of her kimono like blouse and tossed her into the ground. Amagi tried his hardest to hold back as mush as he could. He immediately moved to pin her down but just before he could, Nia, always being the nimble one, arched her back and wrapped her thighs around his neck. She flipped him and slammed him hard on the ground. Having Amagi pinned, Nia moved to sit on his head to try and crush his skull.

"Don't!" Amagi shouted as he released a burst of reiatsu to create a shockwave across the ground. Catching Nia off guard Amagi pushed free of her tight grip and jumped away, moving as far away from her as possible to stay out of her reach.

"Nia, snap out of it!" Amagi shouted again trying to break Nia out of her trance. Her emotionless gaze brought sorrow and desperation to Amagi; he did not know what to do, but he knew he could not hurt her, no matter how badly she could and possibly would injure him, "this is not who you are, so stop!" Nia's silence only made her that more frightening.

"Do what you want, but you know I would never hurt you," Amagi said, his voice dropping off as he spoke, "we discussed what we were to do in a situation like this. I can't. I can't do it."

"Fine, so be it." She said coldly. She spun the long slender blade in her hand for a few revolutions before she raised it above her head, the tip pointing towards the ground.

"Wait, no!" Amagi said taking a step forward, reaching out trying to stop her.

"Plötzlich Donner (sudden thunder)," Nia said in a monotone voice. As she spoke, she jabbed the tip of her zanpakuto into the ground, which instantly began to split open and spider-wed outward in all directions. Amagi again stood his ground and watched as the wall of shine through the cracks. With a loud clap that resembled thunder, a blast of reishi erupted from the cracks and converged on Amagi.

_Nia, what did Aku do to get you like this? What horrible and twisted lie did he feed you? But it cannot end this way, for either of us. Just please, snap out of it. For me. _Amagi thought to himself as he closed his eyes and drew his own zanpakuto. He released whip-like stream of deep blue reishi and with one quick and precise movement, the stream of reishi was brought down on the oncoming wall of light. The moment the two made contact, the wall of light exploded around him.

As the dust settled around him Amagi held his zanpakuto at his side, anticipating Nia's next attack. Through the thinning debris, Amagi could see the silhouette of Nia walking towards him. _So this is really how it is going to be Nia?_ Amagi said, looking desperately at the shadow. Suddenly Nia's hand shot through the light dust cloud and caught Amagi by the scruff of his shirt.

"Time to die Amagi," Nia's voice sounded harsh and cold. Her eyes were just as fierce, if only looks alone could kill.

"Nia, you don't need to do this," Amagi said desperately trying to find some hope that his Nia was still there. Somewhere. She was strong, strong enough to drag Amagi out of the now defused debris cloud, and to toss him clear over her head. He landed hard on the ground and skipped a few feet before coming to a stop. _I cannot keep allowing her to attack me like this, _Amagi thought as he jumped to his, dodging a kick from Nia. He landed as far away as he could again, but knew that would mean one thing; she would release her zanpakuto and use its ability on him. This was proven true when Nia pointed the tip of her zanpakuto to the sky and immediately a massive storm started to form.

"Yes, it is something that must be done. Donnergott Ich beschwore dich (God of Thunder I summon you)," Nia said, but could not proceed any farther, Amagi had appeared in front of her and quickly wrapped his arms around her, pulling her in close; he felt the warmth from her body that he missed so much. She tried to get him off by releasing as much of her reishi she could all at once. Suddenly both of them were surrounded by a wall of white-blue energy. Amagi refused to let go so to counter her reishi, he released just enough of his own. Combinations of deep blue and white-blue swirled around them, enclosing the two of them from the outside world.

"I know this is not your fault," Amagi leaned closer and whispered into her ear, "but I said this many times before and I will always say it no matter what. I love you Nia, no matter what happens or where we are, I will always be there by your side. Even though these past few years I was not, I will make it up to you." Amagi leaned in and kissed her gently on the lips. His words and actions stirred something within Nia and her reishi stopped suddenly.

"Amagi, I'm sorry. I love…" She began to say flustered, she made eye contact just before she collapsed in Amagi's arms. She had tears in her eyes.

"Funny how you once said that our love will conquer all," Amagi smiled as he kneeled down, laying Nia gently on the ground, "and hell, you were right." _It worked,_ Amagi thought as he brushed some of Nia's hair away from her face. _Yes it did Amagi,_ a voice said in his ear, _you stayed true and strong. _Amagi kissed Nia on the forehead, _thanks all to you Tenshi for giving me the boost I needed._

"Well shit," Aku grunted as he appeared and stood over him and Nia, "first Toshino, now Nia. Guess I will have to do things my self than." Amagi looked over his shoulder at the man he has grown to hate with every ounce of his being. Aku had the shaft of his large axe resting on his shoulder. His usual grey hair seemed lighter than normal.

"You will pay for the pain you have caused everyone," Amagi said picking up his zanpakuto and pointed the sharp point just inches from Aku's face. The saw like teeth on the back end of the blade shimmered in the morning sun.


	29. Ch 29 Resolutions

Ch 29 Resolutions

"Before we begin Amagi," Aku said as he grinned evilly at Amagi, "How did you know Nia was still alive?" Amagi shifted his weight from side to side uneasily. He was caught off guard by Aku's random questioning.

"I felt her presence when you first arrived," Amagi explained, "Her reiatsu is the only one that I can never forget, and you know one of the special abilities my zanpakuto can do; it absorbs the reishi of anyone it makes contact with and in certain cases it will store that reishi for later use of indefinitely ."

"That is very interesting, because when I first arrived you were laying on the ground dead," Aku rested his giant axe on his shoulder; the morning sun glistened off the razor sharp edge, "So you stored some of her reishi in her memory."

"So it seemed that way," Amagi said quietly, "So what horrible thing did you trick Nia into believing for her to be like that?"

"Oh I guess it is my turn to answer questions," Aku chuckled, "but I honestly have no idea what you are talking about, she only acted voluntarily."

"Bull shit!" Amagi shouted, "I know your zanpakuto's special ability!"

"Than what is it than Amagi?" Aku questioned, anticipating a far-fetched answer.

"Its ability is mind control," Amagi said annoyed with Aku's continual demeaning manner, "it feeds your opponents minds with false images and thoughts as well as their deepest and darkest fears. Than once their will is broken, you twist them to do what you please. I should know."

"Very good Amagi," Aku tucked his axe under his arm and started clapping, "Very good. You are smarter than you look."

"The only downfall of that ability is once it is broken, you can never gain control over that person again." Amagi added, "So what did you do to Nia?"

"Since you got the right answer, I will be glad to share what I did to her," Aku said in annoyance, "I put those images of her dissipating to help push you over the edge, it worked. She never really did, but when we went to go dispose of her, she was still barely alive. I used that to my advantage and told her that it was your incompetence that nearly got her killed and that you were only using her."

"Bastard," Amagi growled, tightening his grip on the hilt of his zanpakuto to the point his knuckles were turning white.

"It worked to for a while," Aku sighed, "but I guess her feelings for you were much stronger than I first thought. Oh well, won't matter when you are dead." Something caught Amagi's attention; a growing energy source suddenly began forming behind him. He turned to see the gate to the Seireitei appear. Just as the door opened the sky behind Aku split open and thousands of bat-like creatures poured out from within it.

"Ichigo close it now!" Amagi yelled to the figure that just stepped out from within the gate. It was to late, the creatures screeched and howled as they barreled toward the gate that was somehow being forced open.

"What the hell?" Ichigo shouted and dropped on his stomach to dodge them. Amagi did the first thing that came to his mind; he instantly released as much reiatsu as he could. The sudden burst of power caused most of the creatures to disintegrate in the immense power. Still, out of the millions of the bat-like creatures that filled the sky, about a third of them made it through the gate to the Seireitei.

"Ichigo, get take Nia with you and get back to there," Amagi ordered, Ichigo was about to object, "I can handle Aku, but those hollow bats will turn into their true form when they make it through the gate. Those things are worse and way more powerful than any hollow you have encountered yet. The Shinigami will need all the help they can get."

"But…" Amagi cut him off and pointed to the gate. Ichigo nodded and carefully picked up Nia as if she were fragile and would break easily. He turned to run at the gate that was now closing and barely made it through.

The Hollow bats kept pouring in the world of the living well after the gate was closed. Amagi still released as much reishi as he could.

"Well that was an interesting turn of events," Aku laughed as took a step forward and wielded the massive axe.

"Not what I was expecting either," Amagi panted, "but it made sure I don't have to worry about Nia while we fight."

"Wouldn't want such a horrible thing happening now wouldn't we," Aku smirked, "shall we begin?"

"Yes, let's finish this," Amagi shifted his weight on his left leg as he extended the other in front. He spun his zanpakuto so the blade was pointing behind him. The sharp edge pointed outward and the blue engraved dragon glistened in the sunlight. Aku laughed at the spectacle and stomped his foot before he jumped forward at Amagi. _This is it, what I have been waiting for so long to do, _Amagi thought to himself as he leaned backward, dodging the massive axe that was swung at his chest.

Doing a summersault as the axe passed harmlessly by, Amagi regained his footing and slashed at Aku who turned around just in time. Aku blocked it with the shaft of the axe and pushed it to the side. He used the butt of it to smack Amagi in the head but it was deflected easily by a quick swing of his zanpakuto. Aku brought his axe down on Amagi. Even though the movement was extremely fast, Amagi was able to step out from underneath it before it could strike. As he did, Amagi jumped at Aku, elbowing him in the jaw. The impact was immense and sent Aku hurtling backwards.

Amagi looked behind him to see the spot where Aku's axe impacted the ground and gasped as he saw that it left a massive gash in the ground. Amagi barely noticed that Aku had already regained his balance and was running towards him. His movements were faster than Amagi realized and barely was able to block Aku's powerful axe. The resulting impact sent sparks showering in every direction.

As the both of them got warmed up and used to the others strengths, they pushed themselves as fast and as hard as they could go. Each swing of their zanpakuto's, each kick and punch resulted in a outburst of air which would blast outward at tremendous speeds; any loose object was destroyed by this blast of air.

"My, you are stronger than I had first expected," Aku panted as he jumped back, dodging an attempted roundhouse kick from Amagi, "makes this more fun doesn't it?"

"I thought this would harder than it is but I guess you are growing weak in your old age," Amagi said watching Aku jump backwards landing safely on the ground. Amagi held out his palm and faced it towards Aku. Suddenly a beam of energy erupted from it. Aku barely had anytime to react but he quickly brought his axe over his head and brought it down just as the beam hit him. The swing caused the beam to split down the center creating a trench in the shape of a 'Y.'

"I see you like fighting dirty," Aku smirked as he again brought his axe over his head and brought it down. This time the impact was so tremendous that it cause the ground to crack and split in every direction. Some parts dropped hundreds of feet while other skyrocketed in the other direction. The giant crater that was formed from Aku's and Yamamato's fight was unrecognizable off in the distance.

The ground underneath Amagi's feet gave way but he was left suspended in midair. With a boom, Amagi instantly broke the sound barrier and launched himself at Aku; who did the same. They impacted each other with such immense force that some of the new formed cliffs collapsed back down on themselves from the resulting shockwave.

"I do like how you have been keeping your zanpakuto released on its shikai form," Amagi said as he landed softly on a cliff that was barely standing.

"Yeah and what do you mean by that?" Aku asked angrily. Amagi's zanpakuto was still on its released form while his own was not.

"You have never seen my released form have you?" Amagi asked coolly with his zanpakuto at his side.

"No I have only heard about it from Nia and Toshino, but you would never release it upon my request." Aku grew uneasy by Amagi's calmness. He had heard from Nia and Toshino that in reality Amagi's shikai was far to powerful and seemed like it would be his bankai.

"Well I am fulfilling that request for you," Amagi shifted his weight on his heels. Pointing his zanpakuto toward the sky he shouted, "Soko Tenshi (armored Angel)!" When he did a bolt of lightning dropped from the sky and struck the blade. Amagi's reiatsu jumped sharply as the air around him began to spiral inward. As it did, it picked up any loose gravel creating a dust storm. The wind continued to rapidly spiral inward until finally with one final and sudden burst, the sky turned white and a shockwave blasted outward. The resulting blast was more than Aku could handle and he was thrown to the ground like a ragdoll. When he regained his composure he looked over at where Amagi was. He chuckled at the sight; Amagi's zanpakuto was much larger than his own axe.

"This is where it all ends for you Aku." Amagi said as he landed on the ground in front of Aku and as he did the earth just beneath his feet gave in and disintegrated from his power. The four conter-rotating disks that surrounded Amagi's arm whirred as they spun rapidly. The shaft that now took the form of his zanpakuto led to four separate blades that were suspended from the shaft. These four, three foot long blades had a single barb that pointed inwards towards a free floating sphere. Two long chains extended outwards and rattled as they flowed behind Amagi. Amagi grinned at Aku when a small rock was pulled inward towards the blades. The rock instantly turned into reishi and disappeared when it passed by sphere.

"I can see that this will be fun," Aku chuckled as he realized that the counter-rotating disks pulled in the surrounding air and any object that was unfortunate to be sucked in was pulled apart and turned to reishi to be absorbed.


	30. Ch 30 War's End: Seireitei

Hope everyone had an awesome holiday weekend, for those of you who do Thanksgiving that is. Any questions, thoughts, or comments on this chapter or any others feel free to ask/say them. Enjoy!

Ch 30 War's End; Seireitei

The morning sun hung low in the sky as Nia Utsukushii lay awake in a bed; an extremely loud clapping sound startled her awake. After looking around the room to gain her bearings, she realized that she was in the Seireitei; the familiar presence tickled at her spine as the memories flooded back from her childhood. Quickly dismissing those emotions, she noticed that underneath that clapping, the Seireitei was filled with shouting, screaming and than followed by a deathly roar from some unknown creature. She quickly deducted that the loud annoying clapping was the alarms being sounded.

"How did I get here," She whispered to herself in wonder, "and for how long?" She recalled what happened; she tried to fight Amagi who refused, but lost consciousness during it through his actions. She also vaguely remembers some orange haired kid carrying her back through the gate. She let out a short chuckle as she imaged herself punching the orange haired kid for touching her as she regained consciousness for a moment, but since he was doing this for Amagi she held back the urge. As they passed through the gate a battle escalated when they were followed back by those creatures that Nia could only assume were Aku's pets. She shook her head at the thought of those monsters being in the Seireitei; the more reishi they devour, the stronger and vicious they become. If they devour enough, they become near impossible to kill one on one; they turn into a creature that resembles a carnivorous dinosaur with its long snout, razor sharp teeth and piercing red eyes. Their claws resemble sickles and what is worse is their leather wings make them an even more formidable opponent. Even still, she found that her thoughts wondered back to her and Amagi.

Guilt overtook her as she thought about Amagi and how he was willing to do anything to save her. _Why though,_ she thought to herself, _if he only knew the things I had done because of Aku, I am sure he wouldn't have done what he did. Though, would he still love me if he did know?_ Guilt soon turned into sadness, the thought of losing Amagi again became unbearable. Sitting up she pulled her legs up to her chest as much as she could with her arms and held them. She rested her forehead on her knees and began to cry, her long hair fell around her head and legs; enclosing her vision in a wall of red. She thought about the promise that Amagi and her made just before everything fell apart and her attempted murder; they promised that if either of them fell victim to Aku's powers, and because there was no way back from it, that they had to put each other out of their misery. She figured Amagi would ignore the promise and would have gladly sacrificed himself to save her. She was right about that.

"Would I have done the same thing," Nia said, muffled by the sheets she pulled up around herself, "or would I have stuck to the promise and killed him? I don't think I could live with myself if I did that though." She sat in silence, allowing the tears to flow down her cheeks and onto the sheets. The chaos outside was escalating.

"So this is what I come in here to find," A females voice said as the door slid open, Nia turned her head slightly to see a strawberry blonde with large breasts wearing the Gotei 13 uniform, "the women who stole Amagi's heart, but yet you sit here and cry about such measly things." Her words caught Nia off guard and she knew she was right; there was no questioning it, Amagi loved her, and he would do anything and everything in his power to save her.

"You must be Rangiku Matsumoto," Nia said sitting up straight allowing the sheet to slide down her back, and locked her eyes on Rangiku's.

"Yes I am," Rangiku blushed slightly, putting her hand on the back of her head in emberacement at Nia knowing who she was already, "and you are the lovely Nia Utsukushii." Nia nodded and pushed her hair back behind her ears. Nia realized that she was probably seen everything that happened in the world of the living just recently.

"Amagi told me about you," Rangiku added, "Though it was not much, but I see why he fell for you. I may have been too much for him to handle when I was with him back in those days but you, you complement him so much, I am happy for you both." Nia smiled slightly at Rangiku's compliment. Nia never really thought about why he chose herself of Rangiku; her body was stunning and the low 'V' of her uniform would make any man go crazy. They made Nia slightly jealous even if her own are just slightly smaller. That jealousy was soon diminished with the question of 'how does she fight without those getting in the way.' Nia could only ponder on what goes through Amagi's mind.

"But your not mad or hate me because I took him away from you?" Nia asked suddenly. Rangiku smiled and crossed her arms around her waist as she leaned back against the wall.

"No, I have no reason to hate you or be mad," Rangiku's answer confused her slightly, "the reason why is that I thought he was dead and knew it would be best that I moved on and not live in the past that him and I had." Nia lowered her gaze and examined the sheets as she slowly caressed them with her right hand. _I couldn't have handled going through what she had to. I couldn't even deal with the lies I was fed,_ Nia thought to herself, wishing Amagi was there with her. Her usual tough front she uses around people was none existent; she could not bubble up her emotions like she normally does.

"Amagi loves you, and I know that you love him too," Rangiku said quickly walking over to Nia and sat down next to her. She wrapped her arms around Nia who began sobbing and fighting back the tears, "I see it in your eyes. But now, what would Amagi say to you now if he saw you like this?" Nia chuckled when she pictured Amagi in Rangiku's place and him saying in a stern voice 'Let it all out, this may be one of the few times you let your feelings through but don't hold back. Never, hold anything back. If you do, it will only eat you from the inside out 'till you can't handle it anymore. So please, Nia, never hold anything back.' _He has said that many times, and yet, I can't help but hold back. Now. Now is when let everything out,_ Nia thought as she sat on the bed, feeling Rangiku's comforting embrace; _Today everything changes._ Nia opened her eyes just before the wall on the opposite side of the room burst inward, sending bits of the wall flying in every direction.

"Rangiku," Nia said sternly looking over at her as she covered Nia from the chunks, "Go and gather the others, Amagi will be needing our help."

"Wait, but what about that thing?" Rangiku asked worried as she pointed to the monstrous winged dragon-like creature that bellowed when it took a step through the hole in the wall.

"Leave them all to me," Nia said, gently pushing Rangiku back. Rangiku resisted and reached for her zanpakuto. Nia gently put her hand on her arm and shook her head. Rangiku nodded hesitantly and took one last look from Nia and the beast before she ran out the door.

"Alright bastards, come get me," Nia whispered as she let loose her reiatsu. The dragon hollow in front of her lashed out with its long sickle claws. Nia stepped to the side and reached over to her zanpakuto that was leaning against the wall. She was too quick for it. Than the roared in anger as it opened its mouth as far as it could go and jumped forward. With her zanpakuto in her hand she rapidly unsheathed it and in one swipe, the hollows jaw was sliced off. It howled in pain as she spun her zanpakuto in her hand and than drove the blade into the exposed roof of the monsters mouth. Drawing her zanpakuto back, Nia blasted upward and when she did, the room and the rest of the building imploded in on itself. A trail of dust and debris followed her in her upward ascent. She stopped suddenly and looked around; there were thousands of these creatures and they were all converging on her location.

"With this sword in my hand, it will be used as the catalyst for your destruction, I call upon the heavens to strike you down," Nia shouted holding her zanpakuto out in front of her horizontally, resting the palm of her left hand against the back of the blade as she closed her eyes, "hervorkommen(Come forth), Donar*." A massive white-blue lightning bolt suddenly appeared and struck Nia before continuing towards the ground. From Nia's location thousands of smaller lightning bolts arced and branched outward in every direction striking everything in their paths. As she descended only a handful of the dragon-like hollows were left; though each one that tried to attack her was quickly bludgeoned to death with a single swing of the small hammer that now resided in Nia's hands. Two hollows attempted to attack her at the same time; both received a quick and decisive blow to the side of the head, the flat blunt face crushing their skulls.

Her hair flowed behind her that resembled a halo of fire. A cloud of ash drifted behind Nia as well, which amplified her already strong, ruthless and mesmerizing beauty. She touched down on the ground softly next to Rangiku and the other Shinigami, whom could only watch in disbelief and bewilderment. Her strength was immense and a few of the other Shinigami shook and trembled from her extremely dense reiatsu.

"Told you I would take care of them Rangiku," Nia joked, winking at her. Rangiku could not form the words to say anything.

"So this is the lovely Nia's shikai I presume," Captain Shunsui said with excitement examining her which quickly made her uncomfortable and annoyed.

"You all must stay," Captain-commander Yamamato said, limping over to them with his cane, "it has become too dangerous in the fake Karakura Town, both Amagi's and Aku's reiatsu would be even too much for me." No one heard the Captain-Commander; they were still trying to wrap their heads around what Nia just did by herself that the entire Gotei 13 was having troubles doing. Only Nia paid any attention to Yamamato.

"That intense I take it," Nia motioned to Yamamato, "Than I will go alone, I don't want you all to take that risk on getting hurt." Yamamato paused for a moment, contemplating on letting her through.

"Fine, be quick about it. I cannot allow for another invasion to happen." Nia nodded before proceeding to the gate.

"Be careful Nia," Ichigo said suddenly, "Make sure he comes back in one piece so I can smack him around a bit."

"Yes, I need some payback," Kenpachi joked but winced as he began to laugh.

"Remember our talk Nia," Rangiku called out as Nia turned and ran towards the now open gate to the world of the living. _Don't worry, Amagi doesn't need my help I just want to be at his side and see Aku's defeat_, Nia ran through the gate and it slammed shut behind her, _I'm coming Amagi. _

*Donar is the Old Germanic equivalent to the Old Norse deity, Thor. Just clearing that up for everyone!


	31. Ch 31 War's End: Conclusion

Ch 31 War's End: Conclusion

Nia burst through the gate, revealing a landscape that was unrecognizable; sections of the earth rose up to tremendous heights while others created massive fissures. From the entrance to the tunnel that led to the Seireitei, she squinted in the sunlight looking for any signs of Amagi and Aku. That was quickly answered when one of the cliffs suddenly exploded and collapsed on itself. Moments later Nia was nearly blasted backwards by the shockwave; the intense reiatsu the followed was so dense that she was barely able to stand. Regaining her balance she pulled herself through the gate just as it was beginning to close. Not even the gate could stay stable long enough in this environment.

Nia shook her head as she watched two small figures darting across the sky and every once in a while one would fall from the sky to crash into a cliff or slam into what remains of leveled ground. Something was not right about this reiatsu; she could sense both Amagi's and Aku's but the thing that caught her as odd was that Amagi's was weakening while Aku's was increasing. _What the hell is going on?_ Nia thought as she realized that the figure that continually fell was Amagi, _his shikai would have been plenty enough to defeat Aku. Something must be horribly wrong._ She looked in horror as a jet black beam blasted from the figure she realized was Aku. Amagi was able to dodge it but when it struck a cliff face, it exploded sending debris and house sized boulders in every direction. The impact shook the ground violently.

"Damn it Amagi!" Nia shouted as loud as she possibly could, "What the hell do you think you are doing?" Fear caused every hair on her body to stand on end, this won't be as easy as she thought, but she has to do something.

"Shit, what the hell is going on," Amagi whispered to himself, "why is this getting heavier?" Soon after he released his shikai, he knew something was wrong; the four chains that extended off the hilt of his zanpakuto were normally wrapped around his arm and the shaft of the sword to help counter the weight. For some reason this time they flowed freely behind him and the true extent of the weight of the shikai was felt. _What is going on Tenshi,_ he thought to himself as he dodged another one of Aku's deadly attacks, _I thought that the training would help me with this. _Being slightly distracted by Nia's reappearance he barely brought up the four blades in time to block a swing from Aku's axe.

"What's the matter Amagi?" Aku laughed as he spoke, "I thought you were going to finish me, but by the looks of it, you are nearing your limit. That shikai is looking tremendously heavy and I know is only good for defense. So I will beat you down till it breaks than I will kill you with my bare hands!" Amagi shot Aku a worried look; he knew that he must figure out what is wrong and quick, there is not much time. _Tenshi, please, what do I have to do? _Amagi begged, hoping that she would hear him and help him.

"Relax Amagi, there is nothing to be worried about," Tenshi whispered softly in Amagi's ear, "let go of everything; every worry, every pain. Ignore that my armor is heavy, let the power flow through you. Let Aku strike at you, the more he does, the more of his power I take in." Amagi didn't speak; he was absorbing the words Tenshi said. He barely dodged another one of Aku's attacks. He swung his axe up and when Amagi jumped back Aku was nearly on top of him rapidly swinging the axe from left to right. Each time Amagi could feel the axe slicing through the air and each time his movement was either getting faster or Amagi's was slowing down.

_Just let everything go, focus on the good. Nia, I love you, no matter what happens. But I promised you years ago that we would travel the world and I will hold you to that promise. You are foundation that keeps me stable. I shall do everything in my power and strength to protect you, _Amagi said as he closed his eyes, remembering how easy it used to be for him to enter his meditation state. He attempted to just barely reach that point and when he did, he felt completely relaxed; everything seemed to slow down, nearly calming.

"Yes, there you go Amagi, let the power flow through you," Tenshi whispered, "the weight will no longer matter, and it will become an extension of who you are."

"What the hell?" Aku gasped as Amagi suddenly began to glow brightly, he jumped back expecting to be blown away. Nothing happened but the rapid increasing of Amagi's reiatsu made him worry and for good measure.

"There we go Amagi," Nia said as she ran along the edge of a cliff to get a closer look at the events unfolding in front of her. She stopped at a distance she thought was reasonable; close enough to see them clearly, but far enough to where she would not get caught in the fire. She stood with her hands clasped in front of her mouth in anticipation and worry. The wind began to pick up but was blowing in an unusual fashion. It was being pulled inward to Amagi.

"Much better," Amagi said as the long chains rattled in the wind the counter-rotating disks were creating as they spun faster and faster. His wavy hair fluttered as well and his expression changed from that of anguish to pure relaxation.

"Even with the nice light show I will cut you to pieces," Aku growled as he jumped at Amagi with his axe above his head. As Aku charged at Amagi, he did not move; not even when Aku was bringing the axe down on him. Though, just inches from striking Amagi something caused the axe to stop in midair. As if it was being deflected. In frustration Aku pushed down with all his strength. Nothing happened. With a burst of his reiatsu the axe, as well as Aku, were thrown backward into an adjacent cliff face.

"You think that true power lies in just pure strength," Amagi said floating toward were Aku landed, the cliff face had collapsed around him, "I did once, only because that was what I was taught, Both by the Shinigami, and by you. You were wrong, and so were they. True power lies within, deep in the soul, deep in the heart. Only way to know how true power feels is to be loved and to love; it gives a reason to give it your all. It feeds the strength and than in turns releases ones true power. You Aku have never loved or cared about anything but yourself. You think that destroying the Seireitei will bring you to true power, but it will only lead to the destruction of yourself. So live in that self loving world of yours while you still can…." Before Amagi could finish, a jet black beam shot out from the ruble. Amagi shook his head in discontent as the beam headed straight at him. Just as it was about to hit him, the beam suddenly flattened and spread out in every direction; as if it were a stream of water hitting a wall.

"Screw you Amagi, you think because you got some bitch to fall for you that you know everything," Aku shouted ignoring what the beam had done as he blasted the rest of the cliff around him into oblivion, "that goes for you dying and somehow coming back to life as will. I have been around far longer than you have so I know a thing or two about true power, and I must say it does come from how strong you are."

"What a shame," Amagi said coldly, "I thought I could reason with you before I killed you, but I see that is not going to happen." Aku formed another beam and released it at Amagi. Before Aku could realize it Amagi was next to him and was bringing his leg around for a hard kick. Amagi landed the kick and sent Aku hurtling at a near super sonic speed. The shockwave resulting in Amagi's Sonikku Shunpou had caused Aku's beam to detonate, lighting up the sky in a massive fireball. Aku cursed as he fell.

"Stand behind me Nia," Aku had randomly and suddenly appeared in front of Nia, which caught her off guard, "I don't want you getting pulled into this." Nia was mesmerized by how calming Amagi's reiatsu had become, and by how at ease he moved. The four blades had de hinged from the rest of the shaft, and opened wide exposing the center sphere completely. It began to glow as the counter-rotating disks spun faster and faster.

"Burakkuhoru (black hole)," Amagi said softly and suddenly bits of loose earth and any remnants of buildings began to get sucked inward towards the sphere which turned black. The vortex became more and more intense every second. Soon, anything that was in the path of the vortex was sucked in and the ground in the immediate path began to shift, it was being pulled upward and massive chunks began to break off. Once an object entered a certain distance from the sphere it was stretched to the point that it broke down into individual reishi strands. Amagi braced himself as he upped the vortex intensity, he was hoping that Aku would get caught in it but so far that has not happened.

Nia became worried when what remained of the cliff that Aku crashed into imploded and got sucked into the vortex. The part that worried her was the apartment complex sized boulder that was rapidly gaining speed and heading straight at them. She placed her hand on his shoulder in desperation. She noticed that Amagi was smiling at her which she figured was to calm her down. That and the boulder disintegrating before her eyes helped calm her nerves. She noted to stand still when she went to relax and was nearly caught in the back draft of the vortex; she would have been thrown backwards at an incredible speed.

"That's enough I think," Amagi said after a few moment, he had not seen a single sign of Aku and knew that he must of dropped down one of the ravines. The vortex slowly died off but the four massive blades stood open as well as the disks still rotated at a high velocity. Eventually the only sounds that could be heard were the whirring of the disks and a light breeze that started up.

"Go, move back as far and fast as you can," Amagi said, turning to Nia suddenly. She nodded and jumped back and just in time; the ground shook violently and split open. From the new fissure a creature immerged that resembled a giant serpent with black and dark green scales, its spine was lined with spiked protrusions and the crocodile like head had a frill of the same spiked protrusions. As the long serpent slithered from the depths, it bellowed loudly which was loud enough to shake the ground. It coiled into a ball and stared at Amagi with piercing red eyes, its long forked tongue lapped at the air every so often.

"Well Amagi, you are the first to witness my bankai," Aku said as he stood on the head of the giant beast, "and you will be the last I introduce to Bajirisuku(Basilisk), so get ready Amagi, this will be fun! Get him Bajirisuku!" The giant serpent opened its mouth revealing rows of hundreds of needle like teeth the length of a human arm. It hissed viciously as it lurched forward and roared. Amagi watched as the ivory colored fangs got closer and closer. He also watched the over excited look on Aku's face, _why do I feel ashamed for having to destroy such a malevolent creature, even if it is only an evil man's zanpakuto, _Amagi thought as he took slow deep breaths, everything slowed down to the point where time was nearly standing still, _I'm sorry Aku, but this is where it all ends for you._ Amagi rose up his zanpakuto and closed his eyes waiting for the beast to get closer.

"Choshinsei (supernova)," Amagi shouted as Aku and his bankai were just feet from him. The four blades snapped shut and struck the sphere. When it did, all the energy that was absorbed into his zanpakuto was released in one gigantic beam. The resulting beam created a small halo of reishi behind Amagi as the beams diameter went from a few inches to many feet. The dark blue beam struck Bajirisuku which caused it to buckled and crunch up in on itself. As the beam progressed the serpent quickly began to disintegrate catching Aku as well.

"This truly is how I met my end," Aku whispered as he felt himself being lifted off his bankai and left suspended in midair as the beam engulfed him, "This may be the end of me Amagi, but now I am the least of your worries." Aku shouted at Amagi as he took his last breath before he was completely engulfed by the beam. With one final clap, the beam exploded down its length, lighting up the sky brighter than the sun. As the light subsided, nothing remained of Aku and his Bankai.

"So that was really it wasn't it?" Nia asked as she walked up beside Amagi who was panting heavily, his zanpakuto turned back into its unreleased form in his hand, "Aku's bankai."

"Yes, that was," Amagi looked over at Nia and saw the look of admiration she had, "To bad it had to end this way with Aku. He may have been a heartless bastard but he still one hell of a fighter." Nia nodded not fully paying attention, she was still amazed at how powerful Amagi's shikai is; he was able to defeat Aku with it. Even so, Aku who was easily able to defeat the Captain-commander, so what would Amagi be able to do with his bankai?

"So what next?" Amagi said taking a step over to Nia and wrapping his arms around her.

"I don't know," She blushed turning her head to look into his eyes, how much she longed to be held by this man and look into those green eyes again.

"Remember that promise we made when we were going to run away together?"

"Yes I remember," Nia smiled, "let's go see the world." Amagi nodded and leaned in to kiss her. They locked lips for a few moments until they heard shouting and cheers. Blushing Amagi looked up to see that practically the entire Gotei 13 had come through from the Seireitei. He was releived to see them all still alive.


	32. Ch 32 Four Years Later

C 32 Four Years Later

Rangiku walked through the Senkaimon entrance to see Nia and Amagi talking amongst themselves and when the two noticed her and the rest of the Shinigami that followed her, they turned to wave. As Amagi did though, he collapsed and passed out.

"Amagi!" Rangiku shouted, horrified she ran over to them. By the time she reached Amagi, Nia had already sat down and had his head resting in her lap. Nia was stroking his hair lightly. A sudden rush of jealousy and sorrow overcame Rangiku.

_Amagi is in good hands though, _Rangiku thought as she diligently watched Nia; _she will do what ever it takes to make sure he is ok while he will do anything to protect her. Oh how I want that so badly_.

"I see Amagi is in good hands," Rangiku whispered to Nia, who looked up and smiled at her.

"Is Amagi ok?" Orihime shouted as her, Ichigo, Rukia, Chad, Uryuu, Yoruichi and Urahara cleared the entrance to the Senkaimon.

"Yes he just exhausted himself," Nia said with a smile, "his shikai drains so much out of him so this is normal after he uses it."

"Well good," Captain Kenpachi said as he, his lieutenant Yachiru, and Captain Kyoraku stood in front of them, "was worried that he might die before I get the chance to beat the crap out of him."

"Hey, I'm first!" Ichigo shouted over to Kenpachi raising a fist to him. Kenpachi laughed and said he had a score to settle with him as well and a free for all battle between the three of them would be very entertaining. Everyone laughed at Ichigo as he scowled Kenpachi.

_I am envious of this girl, _Rangiku thought, turning back to Nia and Amagi, _what I would give to be in her place, but he and I live separate lives and who am I kidding_. She stood up and practically face palmed herself for her jealousy and being envious of Nia.

"My my, at least he could of held back some," Captain Mayuri of the 12th squad mumbled as he massaged his chin while examining the remains of the fake Karakura Town, "this will take a few months to fix. Nemu lets get to work." He snapped his fingers and a black haired girl appeared next to him and knelt down. She was quickly followed by dozens of other Shinigami from the 12th squad.

"Thank you Orihime," Nia said as Orihime walked over and released her Shoten Kisshun and began to heal both her and Amagi. Orihime smiled and nodded her head. She still was having a hard time trusting Amagi, but she knew he was a good man so she did what she could. Soon though, she noticed that some of the Shinigami around her had surprised looks on their faces and bowed to someone behind her. She looked over her shoulder and gasped.

"Nia Utsukushii and Amagi Mitsuko," Captain-Commander Yamamato said as he walked up over to them, leaning on his cane he opened his eyes slightly, also it was apparent that we was still not fully recovered from his injuries he sustained from Aku; he was heavily bandaged. "on behalf of the Seireitei and the rest of the Soul Society I thank you for what you have done for us. I have come to extend an offer to both you and him." Yamamato noticed that Amagi was asleep and showed no signs of waking anytime soon, he spoke directly to Nia.

"I am here to offer both you and Amagi a spot as a member of the Gotei 13 and a chance to become a captain, you have proven yourself a worthy advocate to fill the vacant spots in either the 5th 3rd or 9th squads." Yamamato tapped his cane on the ground lightly and his Lieutenant Sasakibe walked up beside him and knelt presenting a box to his captain.

"I umm…" Nia began, lost for words, she looked down at the sleeping Amagi than looked up at Yamamato, "I will have to talk to Amagi about this when he wakes up, I can't make a decision without him on this because where ever he goes, I go."

"I understand, I will have one of the Captains staying here in the rebuilding effort send a Hell Butterfly with your answer." The Captain-Commander said as he turned around and disappeared within the Senkaimon. The box lay at the edge of the healing barrier Orihime still had erected. No one spoke but everyone was anticipating the answer.

"Matsumoto," A voice broke through her daydream and the room she was in came back into focus, "Matsumoto what do you think you are doing?"

"Hmm?" Rangiku looked over at the young silver haired boy sitting at the desk across from hers. She was resting her head on her arm which she had propped up on her elbow. She tilted her head back to the window. Her strawberry blonde hair fell over her face. She gently brushed it to the side.

"Stop being lazy and get back to work," Captain Hitsugaya said and was expecting to hear her moan in defiance or say something snide.

"Oh, sorry about that," Rangiku said solemnly. Hitsugaya choked on the air and nearly fell out of his chair. Something was wrong with Rangiku and he needed to know why. He looked down at his calendar and sighed; he knew the answer. Four Years. Four years since Amagi and Nia left to go on their journey around the world. Four years since anyone has seen or heard from the couple. That was why Rangiku was down in the dumps.

"Go ahead and take the rest of the day off, Rangiku." He said looking at a stunned Rangiku.

"What about the paperwork?" She asked in shock.

"I'll deal with that," He mumbled, "go enjoy yourself today, you deserve it." Rangiku didn't know what to do but decided that he was right. She stood up and bowed and headed for the door. As she walked through the doorway she squinted her eyes, trying to adjust to the morning sunlight. _Four years_ Rangiku shook her head, _why couldn't you and Nia accepted the offer? We could have used you in our fight against the Arrancar and Aizen. Still so much has happened since then too but I can't wait to see you again. _She remembered to last moments she spent with Amagi:

'Rangiku,' he had whispered to her, grabbing her hands and holding them in his, 'I will always care for you no matter what. You were the first person I had ever loved and you will always hold a special place in my heart. Never forget that ok?' He than looked over at Nia who was busy talking to Orihime and Ichigo; he kissed her lightly on her cheek and pulled her in and hugged her tightly. Soon after Rangiku followed the rest of the Shinigami back through the Senkaimon and as she took one last look over her shoulder she waved to Amagi who waved back.

Rangiku massaged the bridge of her nose as she shook her head, fighting back the tears. Every time she thought about that last moment with Amagi before she left, she is always brought to tears; she still loves him and always will. _Come back soon Amagi_ Rangiku thought to herself as she walked through the streets heading towards the Rukon district

Meanwhile in the World of the Living, Ichigo Kurosaki walked alone, his backpack slung over his shoulder. In the recent years he allowed his orange hair to grow longer than he used to. He looked up at the cloudy morning sky and sighed lightly.

"Four years and still sign of them," Ichigo said to himself, "where the hell could they have gone?"

"Ichigo!" He heard a girl shout so he stopped walking and turned around, he smiled wide as he saw Orihime running up to him. _She is beautiful as always _Ichigo thought as she jumped into his arms _I have Amagi to thank._

"You ready for class?" Orihime asked as she adjusted her backpack, and held onto Ichigo's arm.

"Yes, I can't wait for the winter break," He said enthusiastically, "Only two more days!"

"Gotta love college," Orihime giggled. The two of them continued to walk down the street. He looked over at Orihime as she stretched her left hand to examine the ring on her ring finger while she held on tightly to Ichigo with her other.

Ichigo thought back to the day when Amagi and Nia left. He recalled exactly what Amagi had told him about Orihime; 'I know that you love that girl, and I don't blame you, she is stunning. But heed my warning; you don't want to regret not doing something if you had the chance. Don't hide your feelings towards her, hell; she might feel the same way so why not take that chance? Trust me on this one, don't take anything for granted because they could be taken away from you in an instant and there won't be a damn thing you can do about it.' As Amagi finished Nia walked over and wrapped her arms around him, she had to stand on her tips of her toes to rest her chin on his shoulder. Ichigo nodded and looked over to Orihime who was talking with Chad and Uryuu. 'If you were smart, you would tell her soon,' Nia added with a smirk.

It was not until after the battle with Aizen that Ichigo gained enough courage to talk to Orihime about how he felt and to his surprise she felt the same. Since than they two have been inseparable.

"I love you Orihime Inue," Ichigo whispered as he stopped and turned to her.

"I love you too Ichigo Kurosaki," She blushed as she spoke. Ichigo leaned over and gently kissed her on the lips.

"Hey get a room you two!" a young man with glasses and long black hair said as he and another ran up beside them.

"Shut up before I kick your ass Uryuu!" Ichigo joked raising a fist to Uryuu. Chad and Orihime laughed at their ongoing friendly quarrel.

"Let's go," Orihime chimed in to stop them, "We don't want to be late for class. Again." They nodded and turned to walk down the street. _I hope they are ok _Orihime thought to herself, _I know what Amagi and Nia did for Ichigo and me. I just need the chance to thank them. _

On the other side of the world the sun hung low in the sky. Two figures sat cuddled together on a beach in an unfamiliar country. The smaller of the two figures had long blood-red hair that was in a single braid down her back. The other had shoulder length brown hair that was extremely wavy.

"So where are we now Amagi?" The figure with the red hair asked softly leaning her head on his shoulder.

"Not sure, Nia, let me get the map out." He reached over to a large black bag and rummaged around n it for a moment before presenting a folded sheet of paper. As he pulled it free a small box fell from the bag. When he opened the paper, he revealed a map of the world and nearly every country was colored in purple. Nia presented the purple marker and Amagi diligently took it and biting down on the cap, he pulled it off.

"I think we are about here," Amagi gently placed the tip of the marker down on a spot in the central coast of a place called California.

"We are almost home," Nia said happily pointing to Japan. Amagi nodded and gently folded the map and put it aside.

"Yes that we are," Amagi agreed putting his arm around Nia and pulling her in closer, "There is not a thing in this world that would change my mind about me being here with you. Watching the sunset with the most beautiful women I have ever seen." He did not break his gaze from the setting sun. Nia looked over and rolled her eyes at him.

"So cheesy," She joked, "but that is why I love you."

"I love you too," Amagi said as the sun disappeared beneath the horizon. _I wonder how everyone has been doing_ he thought laying back in the sand, Nia laying down with him curling up in a ball resting her head on his chest. She quickly dozed off as the sky darkened completely. The box lay next to the bag and had the markings of the Gotei 13 on the top lid.

"Tomorrow," Amagi whispered as his eye lids grew heavier until he could no longer keep them open, "we go home."


	33. Ch 33 Nightmare Before Lunch

(a/n): Decided to converge the original Lost Soul Arc with the newest one; makes more sense to me than splitting them and having two separate stories. I will be going back and correcting a few things with the original story as see fit, so basically revamping the Arc. Also adding an opening and closing theme. Enjoy the next installment of the Lost Soul Arc!

Chapter 33 Nightmares before Lunch

(Opening theme: When You Can't Sleep at Night by Of Mice & Men)

Amagi jolted awake and rapidly sat up; something had startled him awake. He yawned wide and rubbed the sleepiness from his eyes. He felt as if he had slept only a few short hours, but all he remembered was that it was early morning when he fell asleep. Now, the sun had fallen and night had overtaken everything. As he tilted his head back and ran his fingers through his hair, something peculiar was about him.

"No, that's not right," He muttered to himself as he rubbed his eyes again but a little more forcefully to make sure he was not seeing things, "how is that possible?" The night sky was inverted; instead of the night sky being nearly black, it was white, and what was supposed to be bright shining bodies of light where black.

As he tried to wrap his head around the spectacle, a brisk breeze blew past him. Shuddering from being chilled to the bone, he looked over himself and was surprised to see what he was wearing. The clothes he had on he had not worn in decades; he found himself wearing the torn khaki pants and shredded gray shirt prior to his first encounter with Aku and Nia.

Trying to wrap his head around the inverted sky, and his old ragged clothing, the breeze kicked up again. The torn cloths did nothing to help against the frigid air. He curled he knees to his chest to try and keep himself warm.

"Where am I?" He asked as looked around at the scenery that lay before him; Mountains soared high into the sky above him, and to his left, it dropped off steeply into a ravine. He was sitting on a mountain path that seemed so vaguely familiar, but he could not remember exactly how or from where.

Something about the ravine was beckoning to Amagi. So he rose to his feet and edged closer to the ledge of the trail. He peaked over to see that it was filled with debris; mostly large rocks and boulders that ranged from the size of his fist to one that was larger than a two story house. This one rock sat directly in the center. But that was not what caught Amagi's attention; it was what stuck out of them.

He knelt down on his hands and knees to lean over the edge as far as he could to get a better look. Something was glistening slightly in the awkwardly lit night sky, and Amagi felt himself drawn to it; as if what ever it was, was calling his name, driving him to be a daredevil and lean dangerously over the ledge of the path.

"Is that?" He began, but in his strain to get a better look, the ground below him gave way. Tumbling, rolling and even bouncing a few times, he landed flat on his back, knocking the wind right out of him. Amagi clenched his eyes as tight as he could as he struggled to regain his breath. What seemed hours passed before his breathing had completely returned to normal. Though the ordeal made him exceptionally tired, he lay in the spot he landed and kept his eyes closed.

Finding that he was unable to fall back asleep, he opened his eyes and looked over further into the ravine. His heart skipped as he was face to face with a bleached white skull. Jumping out of his skin and needing a new pair of pants, he turned and tried to run up the side of the ravine. It was too steep for him and he only was able to accomplish receiving a face full of gravel and a gash on the side of his head. From when he lost his balance and fell face first into a fairly large rock.

Sliding backwards he knew it was pointless to try again, he let his nerves calm before he turned back around to investigate the skull that he saw. Kneeling down next to it, he picked it up and examined it closely. Amagi could clearly tell it was human, and as he spun it in his hand, he noticed more bones lay where the skull was.

"Is this some sort of graveyard?" Amagi stood up with the skull still in his hand as he scoured the vastness of the ravine. _Now, _he thought letting the skull drop out of his hand, _I can get a better look_. He saw from a distance what looked like a long slender katana-like sword with blue markings was imbedded into the boulder. The black hilt had blue diamonds along the handle and at the end of the hilt a series of chain links rattled in the breeze. There was another sword imbedded into the boulder; this one was a slightly smaller, nearly the same size as a normal katana and had a white and light blue hilt.

"Can't be," He spoke as he began to climb over rocks and stepped over the skeletal remains, "what happened here?" He lost his footing and fell forward, catching himself just before his head smashed on a fairly jagged rock. Sitting up he looked at the skeletal remains he had landed on and noticed something glimmer from underneath it. He examined the skeleton carefully and noticed that it was in a peculiar position; as if the person it belonged to fell and tried to crawl over the rocks. Its arm was extended out in front of it.

"No," Amagi gasped as he recognized the ring on the ring finger of the skeleton; he went back and examined the object underneath the skeleton and his heart sank when his fear was confirmed, "Rangiku-chan, this can't be true!" He staggered backwards and nearly fell over again. His heart nearly sank and his stomach instantly twisted into a knot. He looked around him frantically at the other skeletons that dotted the ravine; he had a horrible feeling that something horrible happened here, and the rest of the skeletons were other Shinigami. Why and how could this have happen?

His attention was diverted when a low growl came from above him in the mountains. He spun around quickly to see a large shadow on the trail above him. First it was just a large blob, but than it came into focus. Amagi strained his eyes trying to catch what it was, but he could not get a clear look. Though all he knew it was big. And its presence was over bearing. It let loose a loud roar, causing the ground around him to tremble. Or was that him? He did not care, the blood flushed from his face as it the monster seemed far to familiar.

Instinct kicked in and he immediately turned to run. And run he did; as fast and hard as his legs, and the terrain would allow him. A boulder or two shifted as he stepped on them, nearly causing Amagi to loose balance, and at this point would not be a good thing; he felt the ground shake as he was being pursued. Panting heavily he could not hear the creature behind him, but he felt its presence and knew it was closing in on him. The adrenaline pumped through his veins making everything seem to move in slow motion, even his heart beat seemed to slow.

Out of the corner of his eye, Amagi saw the silhouette of the beast jump off the ledge of the mountain and he was nearly thrown off balance when it slammed into the ground just behind him. The momentum of the beast caused it to dig deep into the rubble of the eroding mountains; some smaller rocks were tossed when it landed, showing Amagi. The monster bellowed angrily as Amagi continued to run.

Panic started to take hold of Amagi as out of the corner of his eye he saw the monster running along the side of the ravine next to him; it jumped from the stony ravine floor to the side of the ravine without him even realizing it. As he looked over at it, every hair on his body stood on end as he saw the familiar tiger-like body with its long curved tail. The body was jet black with deep blue streaks down its side and its large round triangular ears were turned behind it. Suddenly Amagi knew he had to get out of there and quick; the end of the ravine was fast approaching and all that stood before him was a flat wall.

_If it catches me I hope it kills me quickly, _Amagi thought as he felt his body starting to shut down from over exertion. The images of the two swords impaled on the rock that resembled his and Nia's as well as the skeleton of Rangiku and the other Shinigami ran through his mind as he looked over at the creature as it ran out in front of him along the trail high in the mountain.

"There!" Amagi gasped as he saw a dark hole in the side of the ravine which caught his eye. Just in time too, for the creature decided to now leap out in front of him. He dug his heels into the ground trying to stop as the creature snarled revealing massive razor sharp teeth. Silver saliva oozed from the monsters mouth, sizzling as it dropped onto the ground and ate away at it. The evaporated rock rose in a small cloud of steam.

The creature reared up and raised its paws which had long sickle like claws. Amagi froze in fear as it howled and leaned forward to pounce on him. It launched itself into the air with its claws aimed directly at Amagi.

Again instinct took over and Amagi darted to the side just in the nick of time. Not giving the beast another moment, he bolted for the cave entrance and was nearly diced when the beast slashed at him and bellowed in anger. Somehow Amagi avoided the claws again and sprinted with what little energy he had left. Feeling the ground shake as he ran, Amagi knew the monster was chasing him again. _I have to make it;_ he thought, pushing himself as hard as he could.

The entrance was barely big enough for Amagi to squeeze through, but some how he had to. He frantically reached for something to grab along the wall of the cave to pull himself through but it was smooth, cold and wet. Just as he thought it was all over, that the creature would devour him, he found a notch in the side and with all his strength he screamed as he squeezed himself in.

Amagi just barely made it as the creature slammed into the entrance and with every once of its strength tried to claw its way in. It snarled and snapped its jaw biting at the air. Watching in fear Amagi could do nothing; if it somehow was able to get in, that would mean the end.

Suddenly the ground began to shake and the beast screeched in pain as what sounded like a landslide covered the entrance to the small cave; blocking what little light that was able to enter. Trying to regain his composure, as well as his breath, Amagi backed as far back into the cave as he could and pressed his warm body against the cold moist stone. It was odd, Amagi could not tell if he was a side effect of so much adrenaline or not, but he swore the wall of the cave pulsated slowly.

Before he could fully recover from his ordeal, a noise made every hair on the back of his neck stand up on end. The noise was soon followed by a bone chilling breeze, which to Amagi did not seem possible as he was completely enclosed in this cave. The noise turned into a low thump to what sounded like metal scraping against stone which was followed by a hiss. He tried to focus onto the spot where the noise was coming from but all he could see was pitch darkness; he even waved the hand in front of his face and was not even able to see it.

Piercing through the darkness, a bright green orb randomly appeared. Amagi leaned in to get a better look, but was startled when the one sphere turned into two and where even spaced apart. Something about them seemed peculiar and ominous.

"Wh-who's there?" Amagi struggled to say the words, the fear within him started to bubble to the surface, and his words seemed to invoke something in those orbs because they grew bigger or even possibly moving closer. The walls seemed to close in on him as the spheres became as large as the palm of his hand. The blood drained from his body as he heard the familiar growl and suddenly a blue light switched on revealing the tiger like outline of the creature he thought he had escaped from. He bared its teeth and the saliva poured out from between its teeth. Hissing as it splashed onto the stone floor.

"What do you want?" Amagi pleaded as it drew closer, seeming to smile at him. The walls began to pulsate rapidly around him.

"What do I want?" the creature responded back in a deep hissing voice, "isn't it obvious what I want? It is just like old times, now isn't it?" that voice; Amagi instantly recognized it. How could he forget such a horribly eerie and terrifying voice?

"Liger," Amagi stuttered turning his head away as the creature's nose was just inches from his face.

"Ah, so you do remember," It chuckled as it opened its mouth wide revealing another row of razor sharp teeth along the center of its jaw and closed it before it spoke again, "I like that name, Liger." This monster has haunted Amagi's dreams ever since he slain it with zanpakuto, Tenshi. Remembering his zanpakuto he reached over to grab it. Only grabbing air where his sword should be, panic began to over take Amagi.

A voice that seemed distant and female called out, but Amagi was not able to hear what it said, but it startled Liger and it snapped its jaw in annoyance.

"I want your soul Mitsuko Amagi! And you will give it to me!" Liger than let loose a ear shattering roar, spraying the wall and Amagi with its acidic saliva. Amagi watched as his skin began to melt and radiate off steam, but there was no pain, which he thought was very odd. The female's voice rang in clearer and Amagi could tell she was calling out his name. The walls began to vibrate violently as cracks formed.

"Not now!" Liger snarled as it looked up at the ceiling and the cracks grew wider and longer, letting in a flood of white light, "I will be waiting for you Amagi-san, you can count on that. Your soul will someday be mine, and there is nothing you can do about it." Liger snarled once more and turned and disappeared into the darkness from where it came from.

"Amagi, wake up!" The female's voice was clear and seemed to be shouting in his ear. Suddenly the walls shattered as if it were glass, raining down on Amagi. He was left in the white void as he felt something, or someone nudge him. Amagi heard the familiar and bone chilling roar of Liger just before the white void turned black.

"Alright that's it." Amagi heard as something hard smacked him in the back of the head which caused his face to slam against the desk. He had fallen asleep with his head resting on his arm.

"What the fuck Nia!" Amagi said in surprise as he opened his eyes. Nia stood before him with her left hand resting on her hip and in her other she spun her sheathed zanpakuto. Her long red hair was tied back into a ponytail and she wore a snug fitting uniform of the Gotei 13 that complimented on her physique. Her green eyes were piercing with rage. Suddenly Amagi was wishing he was back in his dream dealing with Liger; he was less frightening than a pissed off Nia.

"Two months Amagi," She extended her fingers indicating the number two, the annoyance in her voice was unmistakable, "two fucking months since we have been back and you are already sleeping on the job."

"Sorry," Amagi apologized embarrassed that he had fallen asleep while doing a major report, " don't know what came over me, was not even tired," he ran his fingers through his hair as he inhaled deeply and let out a slow sigh, "I had that dream again. The one with that hollow I fought so long ago." She walked over and wrapped her arms around him, resting the side of her head on his.

"Sorry, you know how I get about slacking," She gently kissed him on his cheek, "We have been busy since we got back so I will let it slide, just this once. You are my captain after all."


	34. Ch 34 Welcome, the New Captain!

Chapter 34 Welcome, the New Captain!

"Welcome back Mitsuko Amagi," Captain Kyoraku Shunsui said as he and his division welcomed back the once lost Amagi as he and Nia entered through the Senkaimon. Though most of the captains did with open arms, there were still a few that resented his presence in their domain.

"What the fuck is he doing here?" Kenpachi Zaraki mumbled to his Lieutenant Kusajishi Yachiru as she hung over his shoulder looking at Amagi and Nia Utsukushii in excitement.

"Don't take it to personally Kenpachi-sama," She said cheerfully.

Amagi and Nia were escorted through the streets of the Seireitei to be presented to the Captain-Commander. As they walked there was a mixture of cheering and booing. Some praised Amagi while others feared and hated him for what he once was while serving under the mastermind Aku Tatsu. Upon reaching the conference hall with nothing unique happening, Amagi and Nia stood in the center of the circle of captains as they watched patiently for Amagi to speak.

"I have made up my mind, I know it has been four years since Nia and I went our separate ways, but if the offer of us joining the ranks of the Gotei 13 is still on the table, we would like to accept," both he and Nia bowed before him and waited for his answer.

"I must proceed to Central 46 and discuss the matter with them," the Captain-Commander said hastily. After much debate and some protest from the Central 46, Amagi was instated as the Captain of the Fifth Division.

Though, Nia declined the responsibility as Captain so she could become Amagi's lieutenant, stating that she had to watch his back for him as he forgets to. So within a week, they were settled into the Fifth Division barracks. Momo Hinamori retained her position as third seat and soon she and Nia became close friends. Even still, Post Aizen, most of the members, as well as the entirety of the Gotei 13 were weary of the new Captain. Not just because of Amagi taking Aizen's seat, but because of what he had tried to do some four years before.

Two months later Momo entered the room rather hastily, interrupting Amagi and Nia as he still tried to recover from the nightmare he just woken up from. Even in the day time it haunted him more and more as they increased in occurrence; Every time seeming to get more vivid and violent.

"Captain," she said as she bowed slightly, "here is the list of the new recruits."

"Thanks Hinamori-kun," Amagi said, smiling as he grabbed the folder from her and began thumbing through the list, he sighed at how many fresh graduates wanted in the ranks of the Fifth Division, "what's the hurry?" Amagi could see from the corner of his eye that she was fidgeting, constantly looking out the door.

"Er, well," She blushed from embarrassment, "they are kinda here now," She bowed deeply and apologized repeatedly for how absent minded she was about the list.

"Well, than I guess I don't need this," Amagi tossed it the folder onto his desk, "been dreading this day, but lets get it over with," Momo stood with her hands clenched across her chest, "it's ok Momo," he chuckled, "Nia-Chan does it all the time." Nia's response was to smack the back of head, which caused the brown eyed, black haired girl to giggle slightly.

"Piss off," Nia gritted, and Amagi winked at her. She looked away trying to not show him that she was blushing.

Amagi stood and grabbed his black and blue zanpakuto from underneath his desk and proceeded to walk out the door. Nia and Momo followed suit and in the early morning light, their eyes had to adjust to the brightness. As soon as their eyes adjusted, they were confronted with at least a dozen or so young men and women, wearing the tradition black unmarked Shihakusho. They immediately stood at attention on sight of Amagi as he adjusted his white haori that bore the symbol of the Fifth Division but was etched in pale turquoise.

"Ok, let's get this shit started shall we?" Amagi said aloud, clapping his hands uncomfortably. He stood in front of them but had no idea what he was doing; he wished there was a manual on how to test the new recruits, and he, Momo and Nia never really came up with a good plan on how to do so.

"You just going to stand there, or are you going to do something?" Captain Toshiro Hitsugaya chimed as he sat on the roof above him; one leg was tucked against his chest while the other hung off the side.

"Shut up you white haired shrimp," Amagi muttered to himself, he did not care that Hitsugaya heard him and clenched his fists and restrained himself from replying.

"Aw, be nice, it's his first time!" Matsumoto Rangiku exclaimed as she stood next to him, she stood with her hand on her hip. _Shit, of course BOTH of them have to come watch me humiliate myself._ Amagi ran his fingers through his wavy brown hair before coming up with a plan, even as crude as it was.

Amagi removed his haori and Shihakusho, revealing his scar covered torso; mementos of his many past battles. He heard Hitsugaya behind him proudly point out a scar he had given Amagi when they fought; he never lets it down that he was able to cut Amagi the one time. Ignoring the protests by his Lieutenant and Third Seat, Amagi stepped down off the porch and into the middle of the group. He placed his hand on the hilt of his zanpakuto as he went through and inspected each member individually. Some of them looked strong, some looked hard headed and brute, and there were many others that seemed timid and fragile.

"I am not here looking for the best," Amagi spoke loudly as he continued to pace, "I am not here looking for the strongest," no one moved, flinched, they were determined for their place in his squad, "I am not here looking for the fastest. I am not here looking for the smartest; I am here looking for the ones who are devoted, the ones who will protect what means the most to them, the ones who will never back down until they are either dead or their enemies dead," Amagi felt smug about his speech he created on a whim, "If you do not think you can sacrifice yourself for the person standing next to you even if you barely know them, than this is not the place for you. I strive to make this division a family; we fight as one, we breathe as one, we die as one, so I want the few of you would sacrifice it all in that honor. Are all of you willing to do so?" Amagi froze and listened for their responses.

"Yessir!" They all shouted in unison. Amagi was fairly surprised that they did so, but than again he was making up this speech on the spot.

"That is what I like to hear!" Amagi said triumphantly, but now the next problem raised; how to start weaning them out. They were all already admitted into the division, but he had to know what he was dealing with, but he hated how he had not read any of their bios before hand, "This may be a little unorthodox, but since I had no time to read any of your bios," He smirked at Momo who blushed in embarrassment again.

"Some captain you are," Hitsugaya muttered as he shook his head in disapproval.

"As I was saying, there may be a time when you face an enemy with over powering energy," Amagi stopped walking in front of a small, timid looking boy with deep blue hair, who seemed on the verge of having a panic attack. Amagi smiled and nodded to him in reassurance, "many would give in to such pressure, and others would stay and fight for as long as they are standing. It is in this determination a true warrior is created. Let's begin." Amagi started pacing again and as he did, he slowly let loose some of his reiatsu.

He looked intently at their faces as he walked by, only a few seemed to notice the increase of his reiatsu. Glancing over at Nia, she gave him a look of 'that's not a good idea,' but he ignored it. It may not be a good idea, but it was the first thing that came to his mind, because there were countless times during his training at the Academy where over powering reiatsu meant the difference of success or failure. These recruits may have been trained how to weld a sword, to use kido, but when it comes down to a real-world situation, they meant nothing when you felt as if you were being crushed just by someone's reiatsu.

"If you can no longer stand the increase of reiatsu," Amagi said noticing some of the candidates sweating from the increase of pressure that he was releasing slowly, "you can step back. It won't mean you are out of the division, and won't be looked down upon." As he said that three candidates stepped back. Amagi watched and made a mental note of who they were. He was surprised to see that none of them were the frail blue haired boy.

One by one the recruits began to step back and out of the courtyard. Momo went to round them up and, most likely, comfort them. These recruiting can be tough, and as new as Amagi was at this, his was no exception. As he walked he continued to release more and more reiatsu at a steady rate.

"You are taught how to fight, use kido, defend yourselves and all that useful crap," Amagi spoke after what seemed like hours of silence, a couple of the six remaining jumped, "but in the real world, it means nothing if your enemy can seduce you with just his reiatsu, and if that happens, you stand by your peers to the bitter end. That is what I want the Fifth Division to become; a band of brothers and sisters that does not stand down if all seems futile." By this time, Amagi barely noticed that his slow increase of reiatsu had created an audience from other captains.

Finally it was down to the last two. Amagi motioned for them to move closer together as he did not let up the increase. At this point some of the captains could feel the pressure he was raiding off to be slightly over powering. He knew they were talking amongst themselves, and he knew that what he was doing now could mean these last two recruits could die, but something about the frail blue haired boy still standing there made him curious to how much he could handle; Amagi expected him to be one of the first ones out, but he even surpassed one young man who looked like he could lift a bus.

The other remaining candidate was a tough looking, black haired girl. She looked like she could handle everyone in her class but, she seemed at her wits end; she looked drained and sweat was pouring down her face. Amagi stepped closer to them as they stood shoulder to shoulder. Instantly the girl collapsed. Amagi knew that was enough.

"Momo, Nia, help me with her," Amagi shouted as he crouched next to the girl, checking her pulse, "She is ok, but it took a lot out of her." Nia glared at Amagi as she ran past, Momo turned the corner and bolted next to them.

"What the hell was the reason behind that shit?" Nia scolded, she stared him down.

"Easy hun," Amagi said, grinning from ear to ear, he enjoyed the way she looked when she was pissed, "our Fourth and Fifth Seat was vacant was it not?" Amagi gestured to the unconscious girl laying on the ground and the frail boy still standing at attention in the middle of the courtyard. Her facial expression changed when she realized what Amagi was truly trying to accomplish.

"So what is your name?" Amagi said as he stood up and walked over to the boy, "its ok, you don't need to stand at attention like that."

"Ok, my name is Tsukune Akiyama." The boy said proudly.

"Well Tsukune Akiyama, I like what you did using your own reiatsu to cancel out as much of mine as possible. Crude as my method, but it was affective."

"Thank you," Tsukune Akiyama said softly, he was not expecting this much praise. He was actually expecting to be scolded, "How did you know though?" He froze, he was told never to speak out of line and that was what he thought he did.

"Simple," Amagi grinned, reassuring Tsukune, placing a hand on his shoulder, "I am so used to my own reiatsu I could still sense yours as well as everyone else that decided to make it there business what I was doing." Amagi still ignored the crowd that dotted the perimeter wall.

"Is Ai going to be ok?" Tsukune asked as he watched Momo and Nia help the unconscious girl to her feet.

"Ai is her name is it?" Amagi thoughtfully asked, "Oh yeah, she will be fine! Don't worry about it!" Amagi smacked Tsukune on the back, "Well let's go meet up with the rest of them so we can introduce them our new fourth and fifth seats."

"Who are they?" Tsukune asked not sure of whom Amagi meant.

"You and Ai-kun of course," Amagi chuckled leading him away. "Now everyone else get the fuck out of here the shows over!" Amagi shouted at the captains and their lieutenants, not looking at them as he waved.

"Hmm…" Captain-Commander Genryusai Yamamoto stood on the balcony of his courters, watching the new Fifth Division captain test out his new recruits. He leaned on his cane and seemed to be lost in his train of thought.

"What seems to be the matter Eijisai-dono?" Lieutenant Chojiro Sasakibe asked standing next to his captain.

"Even today, that man still reminds me of the frigid, lost boy I met decades ago on a visit to the Academy," Captain-Commander Yamamoto shifted his weight on the cane, "though now, I fear his strength may even surpass mine."

"How so?" Sasakibe asked looking at his captain in concern and wonder.

"In time we will see," Yamamoto turned and walked back inside the large room," in time."


	35. Ch 35 What My Heart Held

Chapter 3 What My Heart Held

"Kurosaki-kun!" Ichigo stirred from his sleep. He knew who it was; Orihime Inoue. She was calling from the next room. Ichigo moaned loudly as he rolled over onto his stomach.

"Kurosaki-kun, time to wake up!" Orihime chirped as she opened the door to their bedroom loudly, "It is a beautiful day!" her over joyousness manner about the day irritated Ichigo slightly. He moaned loudly and covered he ears with his pillow. She remained standing in the doorway watching him.

"Kurosaki-kun," Orihime repeated in a child-like manner, it was no longer about waking Ichigo up, and rather it was now a matter of getting him out of bed.

"Shhh," Ichigo shushed as he opened eye to look at the clock. He noticed what time it was and began to grumble, "its Saturday, there's no classes today. Can we PLEASE just sleep in?" Orihime wagged a finger at him in disapproval.

"Kurosaki-kun, there will be none of that," she chimed, "I made you breakfast, so get up and come eat." Ichigo pulled the sheets over his head trying to block her out.

"Kurosaki-kun" She chimed agained, but she had an idea so she walked over to the large window and threw open the curtains. He blinked wildly as his eyes adjusted to the light, but he just rolled over on his side. Groaning as he did.

"Kurosaki-kun," She chirped again as she yanked the sheets off of Ichigo and tossed them on the floor. She barely noticed that he was just in his pin stripped boxers and a white shirt.

"The hell!?" Ichigo spat as he glared at Orihime.

"Kurosaki-kun," She repeated, and she knew that by now he was getting annoyed; soon, she would be victorious.

"Orihime-chan," Ichigo said sarcastically as he laid his head back on his pillow, rubbing his face with his hands.

"Kurosaki-kun," she repeated.

"Orihime-chan," He said grinning at her, "Two can play at this game."

"Kurosaki-kun," She smirked, sticking out her tongue "Than lets go."

"Orihime-chan, come at me bro!"

"KUROSAKI-KUN, KUROSAKI-KUN, KUROSAKI-KUN, KUROSAKI-KUN, KURO-," Ichigo jumped up out of bed, grabbed Orihime and tossed her back onto it. He leapt after her and after a short struggle had her arms pinned above her head. She was laughing to hard to fight back very well, so Ichigo was easily able to seduce her. He met her lips with his own, than kissed her cheek before he kissed the side of her neck and shoulder.

"You know I love you right Ichigo?" Orihime said as he released her arms. He continued to lean over her as they looked deeply into each others eyes.

"I know," Ichigo said matter of fact way and smirked at her, she gasped slightly through a smile, but he kissed her more passionately, "and I love you too."

"If it were not for Arisawa-san is coming over in a bit, I would say lets spend the day in bed," Orihime said and instantly saw the annoyance in Ichigo's face, "how about we do that next weekend?"

"Not surprising really, that's fine I guess," Ichigo muttered as he rested his head on her shoulder, she wrapped her arms around him and pulled him to a tight hug, "No disruptions?" Remembering how so many years ago she wished she could do this; hold on to him and never let go. Now that she can regularly, she still finds herself holding her breathe when he embraces her in his arms. She closed her eyes and smiled.

"None, I promise!" Orihime whispered, kissing him on his cheek, "I have to go finish breakfast, it's going to be amazing!" Ichigo rolled over on his back, running his hands through his hair as Orihime got up out off the bed.

"What is it? Smells good actually," Ichigo said as he watched Orihime adjust her knee length skirt. It was her favorite; white fabric with multi colored flowers stitched into it. Her burnt orange hair came down past her waist and was darker and fuller now than when he first met her. "I'm sure red bean paste is involved?" Ichigo asked. How he could forget; it's not how she cooks, but WHAT she cooks.

"Of course!" Orihime winked at him as she walked out of the room. Ichigo chuckled as he got up to get himself cleaned up before Arisawa arrived. Lately when ever she would come over, Keigo Asano, Mizuiro Kojima, Chad and sometimes even Uryu Ishida will show up with them. Every weekend Orihime's and Ichigo's one bedroom apartment usually turns into their hang out. Even though Uryu and Mizuiro went to different colleges, the friendships they had built never seemed to falter, especially after the conflict with Aizen.

"The college life I guess," Ichigo muttered to himself after he showered, walking out from the bathroom in just a towel. His orange mane dripped water onto his shoulders as he went for his closet for some clothes.

"You know Kurosaki-kun," Orihime called from the other room, "it has been fairly quiet over the past few years."

"What do you mean?" Ichigo said as he finished drying off his hair and rummaged through his dresser for a set of clothes.

"We haven't seen Kuchiki-san or any of the other Shinigami for over a year now," It was obvious that Orihime's thoughts quickly were lost in the many obscure scenarios of what might have happened, "I wonder if everything is ok there." Ichigo pulled on a black polo shirt, as he looked in the direction she was at.

"Well, could be that nothing important has happened that we are needed," Ichigo pulled on a pair blue jeans, "besides, we aren't exactly in Karakura Town at the moment." He was right, they were sophomores at the college they attended and it was some two hour trip to get back to the town.

"Yeah, you may be right." She said thoughtfully.

"We have our own problems to deal with," Ichigo said, walking into the living room where Orihime was sitting; her homework spread out on the coffee table in front of her, "Like why the hell are you doing your homework on a Saturday," The doorbell rand repeatedly, "and how to deal with THEM."

"KUROSAKI-SAN, OPEN THE DAMN DOOR WILL YA?" Keigo shouted as he continued to hit the doorbell. Orihime giggled as she saw anger build in his face. Ichigo leaned over the back of the couch and planted a gentle kiss on her cheek before he walked over to the front door. The way Keigo was pounding on the door made it seem as if he was trying to break in. Which, Ichigo would not be surprised if he did.

"Damn it Asano-san, you ring that doorbell one more time I will beat your face in!"

"Piss off!" Keigo shouted, as he continued to hit the doorbell. _I wonder what ever came of Amagi and Nia-san, _Orihime thought to herself as she watched Ichigo throw the door open and grab Keigo by the scruff of his shirt, _Rukia called a few months ago and told us they made it safely, but they seemed way to eager to get to the Soul Society anyways._ Before Ichigo could do anything to Keigo, Arisawa punched him in the chin, sending him flying backwards. Soon after Chad, Mizuiro, and surprisingly Uryu rushed in to check on Ichigo.

"It smells wonderful Orihime-kun!" Tatsuki said cheerfully as she plopped down next to Orihime who was busy gathering up the papers from her homework. She stuffed them into her school bag before hugging Tatsuki.

"Well let's eat than!" Orihime said, clapping her hands together in excitement. She let everyone gather in the dinning room before she followed. _What ever the reason, _She thought as she walked into the dinning room; _it was really good seeing them again after four years. I never got the chance to thank them._

* * *

"Matsumoto-san," Hitsugaya said as he walked into the office of Tenth Division barracks to see Rangiku sitting at her desk, daydreaming once again, "Damn it Rangiku." Hitsugaya muttered as he massaged the bridge of his nose in annoyance.

"Earth to Rangiku," he smacked his hand on the desk, causing her to jump, "you there or did you black out again?"

"Huh? Oh sorry," She muttered in embarrassment, It is not that she has been slacking off any more than normal, Rangiku has found herself more and more distracted. She kept telling herself that it was nothing as well as that it had nothing to do with Amagi being back. In reality it was just a lie to make herself feel better, "I am going out for a walk." Rangiku did not even wait for Hitsugaya's disapproval before she got out of her chair and walked out the Tenth Divisions barracks

"The hell is her problem today?" Toshiro asked in disbelieve. He stood in the office long after Rangiku had left, wondering what was wrong.

Rangiku jumped up onto the roof of a near by building and proceeded to run. Not caring where she went, she just ran as fast as she could; heading towards the outskirts of the Seireitei. On one roof top she nearly landed on Shunsui Kyoraku as he sat cross-legged.

"Whoa slow down there Rangiku-san," He called out after her, gripping his straw hat so it would not fly away,

"Oh, sorry!" She shouted not even stopping as she continued to run.

"I wonder what's eating at her." He said as he watched her disappear down the side of a building, "Ever since he has been back, she has been acting weird."

"Wait, since who got back?" Kyoraku's Lieutenant Nanao Ise said as she walked over, looking in the direction from which Rangiku had ran.

"Oh it's nothing!" He reassured her, waving his hand at her. _Keep yourself together Rangiku-san,_ Kyoraku thought to himself as he laid back down on the roof, looking up at the sky.

Eventually Rangiku made it to her destination; to where she grew up. This place brought back so many memories, the good and the bad. It was where she first met Gin, where she first decided to become a Shinigami.

Nothing has changed since her last visit; the same run down shops and houses lined the dirt road which was the main street. The people even looked the same; worn, beaten, just struggling to survive. This is why she joined, to help these people. Though she never knew how much different the Gotei 13 actually was compared to how the stories of epic battles portrayed them.

She walked along the dirt road and looked from face to face of the people here. They watched her in return with distrust and she does not blame them; they are so far away from the Seireitei that they are mostly left to fend for themselves. So it is no wonder when one shows up that they grow concerned that trouble may follow. She had to go some where to clear her head, and this was the first place that came to mind.

Ever since Amagi returned, she could not find herself able to talk to him; it hurt her to much. It was not his or her fault why he was thrown out of the Gotei 13 in the first place so it has nothing to do with that. Seeing Amagi and he no longer being hers is what hurts her the most; it was a given that he moved on, but she still longs for those days they would spend with each other. She was passing a fruit stand when she heard a soft child's voice call out to her.

"Excuse me," Rangiku looked over her shoulder and saw a ten year old boy had walked up to her he was wearing a ratty blue shirt and torn brown pants, his jet black hair looked somewhat matted, "are you a Shinigami?" She did not know how to answer the question; he looked intently up at her with his deep blue eyes. It was not uncommon for people out this far to only see a Shinigami once; to them a Shinigami might as well be a legend for how often they come here, and that was what she thought herself until she met one.

"Yes I am actually," Rangiku said sweetly to him as she knelt down on a knee, "why do you ask?"

"Well my friends tell me that you are all just phonies wielding fancy swords," The boy said shyly, he was avoiding eye contact and was digging his shoeless toes into the dirt, "but I know they are wrong and some day I want to become one." A child with a dream, how innocent and imaginative they can be; the boy's and her conversation started to draw peoples attention. Some looked horrified while others looked on with anger.

"And why may that be?" Rangiku asked. She tried to sound as nice as she could; she does not have the best experience with children.

"I want to help my family, and protect them from the mean people that want to hurt everyone," Rangiku was all to familiar with the violence out in this district and even though he may be young, he was wise for his age, "I hear the stories of captains and their soldiers running into battle to save the innocent. I want to become that. No one will suffer anymore!" As he spoke he grew more excited which made Rangiku believe he has not really told anyone this.

"I see, and that is a very good reason to become a Shinigami," Rangiku reassured him

"Miss, don't fill the brats head with hopeless dreams," A burley man said walking up behind her. She glared at him and he backed off.

"So do you think I can become one like you?" He asked enthusiastically. That she did not know how to answer. She could sense a tiny bit more reiatsu than the beast of the man that still towered over her.

"Well, as long as you hold onto that dream and never forget the reason why," Rangiku smiled at him, "if you remember to follow this," She pointed to his heart, "rather than this," She than pointed to his head, "than anything is possible."

"Thanks miss!" The boy said gleefully, he hugged her and turned to run off with a new sense about himself. He ran up to a lady who was across the street whom Rangiku presumed was his mother, well, adopted mother. _At least he has some family to look after him so he should be fine_.

"What do you want?" Rangiku looked over at the man that continued to stand over her. He looked from her face down to her chest. _This could get ugly; _she thought as she reached behind her back and grabbed the hilt to her zanpakuto.

"I was just going to leave you be after the kid left," He said in a low tone, "but now I think you are to damn hot to leave unharmed." He licked his lips lightly.

"Yeah, would like to see you try," Rangiku stood defensively, another slender and shorter man walked up behind her. She noticed him immediately and waited for him to strike, "and two on one? That's not very fair." The buff guy laughed awkwardly.

"And what the fuck you gunna do bout it Blondie?" He chuckled. There was a loud crack and everything happened so fast.

The entire street erupted from a sudden and very powerful shockwave. Rangiku was able to hold her ground as she covered her face with her arms, but the other two men did not fare so well; they were thrown like ragdolls into the ground. A few women screamed as a building shook in its foundation threatening to collapse on itself. Wheeled carts were thrown about the street and clothes that were hung up on lines to dry flew in all directions. What ever that was only created chaos

"The hell was that?" Rangiku asked herself looking up into the sky from where the shockwave originated from and the residual reiatsu was unmistakable and she knew exactly what happened. She shook her head as she checked on the two guys who were about to assault her. They were out cold.

"Damn Amagi, you and your fucking Shunpo," Rangiku scolded as she ran over to check on a woman who walked out from the confines of her house.

"Rangiku-san!" The redheaded Nia Utsukushii shouted as she dropped down from the roof of the building next to her, "Is everyone ok here?" Nia looked around and the damage that was caused.

"Yeah, nothing serious thankfully," Rangiku said as she walked up to Nia, "What are you guys doing anyways?"

"Hey wait, are those two guys ok?" Nia interrupted, pointing to the big buff man and his friend still lying face down in the dirt.

"Oh, them?" Rangiku glanced over her shoulder at them and shook her head, "don't worry about them." Nia gave her a concerned look but Rangiku ignored it.

"Okay than," Nia said slowly shrugging her shoulders. Nearly forgetting what Rangiku asked, she added, "We are doing our first training mission today, and Amagi is our target. So gotta get going, he's to fucking fast with that Sonikku Shunpo of his. Cya 'round Rangiku-san!" Nia casually saluted before using her own Shunpo to jump on the rooftops.

Rangiku did not have time to respond before she was gone as soon as she arrived. Barely gathering in her mind what just happened when suddenly she was surrounded by dozens of men and women wearing the Shinigami uniforms. They were running as fast and hard as they could trying to keep up their pace with their Captain and Lieutenant.

"Matsumoto-san!" Momo called out as she ran past her waving.

"Right," Rangiku muttered to herself as she massaged the bridge of her nose "one day after getting a full squad and he is already out causing problems for everyone. This should be interesting." Rangiku waited for the last fifth division member to run past before she too took pursuit; keeping her distance as much as she could without getting noticed.


	36. Ch 36 Our Past Never Forgotten

Chapter 36 Our Past Never Forgotten

"Where the fuck did you go?" Rangiku muttered as she peered through the leaves of the bush she was hiding in. she had followed the large amount of trace reiatsu that he was leaving behind. She figured at this point that the Fifth Division was doings some sort of exercise but she wanted to know exactly what it was. She had lost track of the squad but that did not matter much to her, she did not want to get caught snooping anyways.

She was hiding in the bushes because for some reason Amagi's trail of reiatsu ran dry, so she assumes he must be near by. She grew angry with herself the longer she sat in the vegetation. _So stupid, _Rangiku shook her head, _what the fuck am I doing in here? Like some giddy little girl. So pathetic. _She was about to crawl out when she herd some one walking towards her hiding spot. She instinctively reached behind her and gripped the hilt of her zanpakuto in her hand, ready to draw it out in a moments notice.

"What do you think your doing?" A mans voice whispered loudly in her ear. Her first reaction was to summersault out of the bushes. She landed on her feet with Haineko drawn and pointing it in the direction from where the voice came from.

"Amagi-sama," She shouted relaxing her stance and sheathing Haineko, "sneaking around like that, could get your self killed." Amagi walked from behind the bushes, he was wearing only the bottoms of his Shihakusho. He had a turquoise ribbon wrapped around his upper arm. She blushed and looked away when she caught herself examining his muscular frame, "and please where the hell is the rest of your uniform." It was the best she could come up with and it was no where near what she really wanted to say.

"What? You have seen me in fewer cloths than this," Amagi said looking down at himself and chuckled. Rangiku glared at him, but she knew it was true; she was trying her best not to stare.

"And you should be the one to warn me about sneaking around," Amagi walked past Rangiku, "You were the one hiding in the bushes."

"Yeah, well I had a good reason," Rangiku folded her arms across he chest as she tried to think of an excuse and quick. Every time she was around him her chest would feel tight and she felt anxious; how she hated this feeling.

"Oh really, and what was that reason?" Amagi prodded coyly. He turned to face her with a wide grin on his face, "I would like to hear that."

"I-I was in the area," Rangiku stuttered but what she said was the truth, up till a point that is, "you kind of wrecked the village with your Sonniku Shunpo and I cam looking for you to yell at you."

"Oh damn," Amagi's grin disappeared as he looked over in the direction from which the village lay, "I tend to forget how much reiatsu I put out when I do that, was anyone hurt?"

"Not severely," Rangiku said but remembered the two assailants that tried to harm her when Amagi blasted over, "just a few cuts and bruises, Oh, and two unconscious thugs as well."

"Whew, ok you had me worried for a second there," Amagi sighed, reaching back to run the back of his head in embarrassment, "but what were you doing in the village anyways? Just on a weekend stroll I presume?" Rangiku nodded but kept silent.

"We need to talk Rangiku-chan," Amagi's voice turned serious; "we really haven't had time since I've been back you know? Come; take my hand I want to show you something." Rangiku looked at his out stretched hand for a moment before she took it. How familiar it felt; warm, gentle, how she missed it. Without a warning she found herself standing at the edge of massive lake. The water shimmered in the sunlight.

"I remember this place," Rangiku spoke softly as she recognized where Amagi had brought her to, "haven't been here since after you were sentenced to-"She pressed her lips tight before she could continue thinking aloud, "Sorry."

"No, it's ok Rangiku," Amagi smiled reassuring her, "I have to apologize for not being here for you at all. I left on a bad note which was not right for me to do to you."

"What do you mean?" Rangiku asked as she looked over at him with a puzzled look. Had he meant after the battle with Aku or when he was thrown out of the Seireitei?

"I was cast out when things were good between us," Amagi walked over to the edge of the lake and sat down on the smooth graveled shore, "and I left again with barely a good bye after Aku was defeated. You have been through a lot because of me and you deserve better than what I can give you." She wanted to scream in protest that that was not true, but for some reason she could not. She stood looking down at this man and felt so guilty for being jealous and secretly loathing Nia. Rangiku wanted to tell him that he deserved so much better than she herself could give him, but she believed he already had.

"You have nothing to apologize for Amagi-kun," Rangiku said softly smiling at him as he turned around to look up at her, "time is always a precious thing no matter what the circumstance or where you are."

"Yes it is," Amagi stood up and in one full swoop he wrapped his arms around her and held her close, "no matter what I want us to be friends, ok?" Rangiku melted in his arms; she barely heard what he said. _He has not changed one bit, _Rangiku thought as she smiled returning his hug, _he has grown up so much but he is still the same old Amagi-kun._

"Of course," Rangiku buried her face in his warm shoulder, "would not have it any other way."

"Good," Amagi stepped back and grabbed her shoulders, "Now, don't worry about Nia-chan, she may act intimidating to you, don't take any notice, ok? She has a mean jealous streak."

"I noticed, but she is not the only one," Rangiku laughed and so did Amagi; he knew that she was referring to herself and knew exactly how jealous she could get.

"Alright, I have to go," Amagi looked back at the forest behind Rangiku, "the rest of my Division is near by. We are playing an interesting game of tag. You can come along and watch, or participate, it's up to you." Amagi released her and smiled. He vanished, leaving Rangiku by herself to think about what just happened between them. Though she was not alone for very long, and barely had time to grasp it all when at least a dozen or so people wearing the Shinigami uniforms were running along the shore of the lake.

"Rangiku-sama!" Momo shouted as she waved her arm in the air. Right next to her was the red haired Nia, her expression was contorted to that of extreme concentration.

"Momo-san, Nia-sama!" Rangiku waved back.

"What brings you out here?" Nia asked as she approached Rangiku.

"Well I found Amagi-kun," Nia's attention snapped to Rangiku and she glared at her, "he said I could tag along. If that is ok with you that is." Nia thought about it for a moment and decided that it would not hurt having her around.

"Would love to have you help us!" Momo said cheerfully.

"Do you know where he went?" Nia asked. Amagi never told Rangiku where he went but even still she did not know how to answer. After a moment of debating with herself, she raised her hand and pointed into the woods.

"Alright listen up," Nia called out to the rest of the Fifth Division, "Momo-kun take your designated squad accompanied by Rangiku-san, and take the right flank. I will take the left flank. We need to surround him, but be cautious, I'm sure he has some tricks up his sleeves."

"Yes fukutaicho!" everyone said in unison. They drew their zanpakutos and continued to divide into the appropriate squads.

"Let's move," Nia ordered, reaching behind her shoulder to grab her own zanpakuto Donnergott from its casing. The light glinted as it reflected off the long slender blade. She held it out to the side as she sprinted into the woods, closely followed by the rest of her Division and Rangiku. Not even Nia knew what was in store for them; Amagi kept that a secret but he promised no explosions.

The winds blew gently along the sands of Las Noches, which in recent years has fallen deathly quiet. Only a few hollows leave, but only because they are aloud to, though no one wants them to; it would upset the balance if none walked among the World of the Living or the Soul Society. Now only small groups of Shinigami patrol the vast desert but none are told what they are looking for. Only rumors of Arrancar and Menos Grande hiding in its vastness are told but any have yet to be spotted.

"Keiji what the hell are you doing back there?" A female Shinigami shouted to someone lagging behind her. She was bound in a white rob and a shemagh wrapped around her head to protect her from the more frequent sand storms. She and Keiji were on patrol when they lost sight of their squad members.

"Shut it maple syrup!" Keiji shouted as he picked up his pace. He too was bound in a white rob and Shemagh, "not my fault we lost track of everyone!" She stopped in her tracks and turned to face Keiji.

"Fuck you; I hate it when you call me that!" She groaned in annoyance.

"Fine than KAEDE-kun," Keiji said harshly. Normally the two of them got along just fine, but they had gotten lost in the deserts of Las Noches for god knows how long, and their patience had long been broken. When he approached Kaede, she turned her back to him and folded her arms across her chest.

"I'm sorry," He sighed as he stood next to Kaede, "this place has gotten to my fucking head. I don't know where we are and it seems to be going on forever."

"Yeah and that last sand storm did not help us at all." She said relaxing her stance.

"No it did not," Keiji knelt down and pulled his pack from around his shoulders and dropped it into the sand. He proceeded to dig threw it once again to look for his compass, "I know I keep searching but maybe it's still in here?"

"If it was not there yesterday than it won't be there today," Kaede placed her hand on his shoulder, "we just keep walking till we find a marker or something. One shouldn't be too far I hope."

"Your right," he re packed his pack and as he stood up tossed it back on his shoulders, "lets just go." Soon after it was not long until something in the distance caught there attention; a purple light flashed for a second or two before it stopped. Than seconds later it would re appear for another couple of seconds. They froze as they tried to figure out what this was.

"Whoa what is that?" Kaede squinted through the shemagh to focus on the light.

"Don't know but what ever it is it is getting closer." The wind suddenly died and the two of them shot each other a concerned look. The light was just about to break over the horizon when it disappeared. This time it did not reappear and the hairs on the back of Keiji's neck stood on end; he had a bad feeling that something bad was about to happen.

"What the hell is going on?" Kaede asked, it was eerily quiet and the air around them seemed to get thicker.

"I don't know, but I don't like it," Keiji said taking a step backwards, "I think we should go. NOW!" As soon as he said that the sky around them opened up with a storm of purple-white lightning bolts. They jumped to either side as a bolt smashed the ground where they stood just a moment before and it was left sizzling as the sand melted. They stayed side by side as they ran, but what ever this was it was massive.

They watched the lightning hit the sand around them, and as they ran over previous strikes, the sand suddenly turned solid; the molten sand cooled into glass. Suddenly with a loud bang, the sky was torn open revealing a white light behind it. They were temporarily blinded by the sudden flash so they did not see what slithered out from within the tear.

"Run Kaede!" Keiji said as he was the first one to regain some vision, he was horrified by what stood over them," go! Now we can't do anything against this Hollow!" he gave her a slight push and she sprinted, running as fast as her legs could carry her.

"Keiji where are you?" Her eye sight was not fully recovered but she could tell there was something in front of her, and it was gigantic.

The ground shook as the figure that stood in front of Kaede bellowed; it was loud and it sounded terrifying. She saw another flash of light and knew that Keiji must have engaged what ever this thing was. His Kido only seemed to enrage it as it began to stomp around bellowing a deafly roar as it went. Another flash of light erupted but this time it came from the creature, and Kaede looked on in horror as Keiji was engulfed in flames.

"NO!" Kaede screamed, "Keiji!" she froze; fear, horror and dread suddenly flooded into her. She just watched her best friend, the only man she ever loved; die in the most horrible way she could imagine. She wanted revenge and she wanted this thing dead. She drew her zanpakuto in a blind furry of rage she charged at the beast, screaming as she went.

The creature turned to face her and in the on going lightning she saw the dragon like head, its razor sharp teeth seemed to grin at her as it lowered its slender neck to the ground. She continued to charge with her zanpakuto raised above her head, she knew instantly that it was futile, but she did not care. Before she could even get within striking distance, something grabbed her leg and lifted her up high in the sky. Her shemagh fell away, her long deep purple hair hung free of its containment. She had to think of something and quick.

"Hado Number 31 Shakkaho!" Kaede shouted and a ball of red reishi shot from her outstretched hand. It impacted and exploded on the dragon-like beast's snout. It screeched in surprise and in one swift movement Kaede was slammed into the ground with such force that she the wind was knocked out of her. She lay there in the crater that was formed gasping for air. The ground shook as the creature walked to stand over the girl; she hoped she would slip into unconsciousness before the beast killed her. She did not want to think about it but knew it was inevitable.

"Mitsuko Amagi!" Kaede heard the beast bellow. It was the last thing she would ever hear. She slipped away just as the creature opened its mouth and red hot flames erupted from deep in its throat.


	37. Ch 37 What Lurks in the Shadows?

Chapter 37 What Lurks in the Shadows?

"The hell is going on?" Kenpachi Zaraki grumbled as he entered the hallway leading up to the great hall. He let his hair grow longer in the recent years and it was spiked backwards behind him and his Shihakusho and haori was as it always was loose and frayed. The doors to the meeting hall were closed and locked shut, and the Captain-Commander was clearly talking to someone but Kenpachi could not tell who it was.

"Be quiet," Kuchiki Byakuya said coldly as he stood leaning against the far wall with his arms folded. He glared over at Kenpachi with his piercing slate gray eyes.

"Something is up, haven't seen so much commotion around the Seireitei in a long time. " Kyoraku Shunsui said. He was sitting on the ground cross legged with his arms folded across his chest. His large straw hat was tilted over her face and he is sporting his usual pink floral kimono. Though no one was fooled by his attempt to be conspicuous, but no one said anything about it. Toshiro Hitsugaya stood closest to the door and was looking off in the distance, he was trying his hardest to focus in on the conversation within the hall, but the chatter around him prevented that.

"I am sure what ever it is," Unohana Retsu said quietly, she held her hands clasped close to her chest, "that it is rather important, as we only get called for an emergency meeting every so often." In reality it has been nearly a year since they were called for an emergency meeting of this kind; though the last time it was mainly just a false alarm. It was for Yamamato's birthday.

"You and that damn hat of yours Kyoraku-san," Soifon scolded as she walked up to the rest of the captains. Her short black hair fluttered as she reached for Kyoraku's hat; he quickly snatched it off his head just at the last second, smirking as he did.

"So who are we missing?" The wolf captain of Division seven, Sajin Komamura, said as he entered the hallway, his boots clunking on the wood floor. The other captains looked around to see who was present, but before they could say a word, the large door leading into the meeting hall opened.

"Enter," They heard the Captain-Commander bark. They all immediately entered the hall and took spots along the large wooden table. At the center, Genryusai Yamamato sat with his hands resting on the top of his cane. He looked as frail and old as usual. His Lieutenant Chojiro Sasakibe stood behind him, not making a single noise. On either side of Captain-Commander Yamamato, Kurotsuchi Mayuri, and Ukitake Jushiro sat. While Ukitake looked distressed and had his head resting on the table, Mayuri looked as frightening as ever; his bare golden teeth gave everyone the impression that he was enjoying the situation, but they all knew he always looked like that. As each captain took a seat, Captain-Commander Yamamato looked around at the captain's present, taking note who was and was not there.

"I am surprised to see you here on time Kenpachi-san," Genryusai said harshly, "though I am surprised Amagi-san is not present for this meeting."

"He is out past the Rukongai on a training exercise with the rest of the Fifth Division," Hitsugaya spoke up slightly.

"I am aware of his where-about at this time, but he should have been back by now. We have more pressing matters than a training exercise." As the Captain-Commander finished speaking, he looked over at Mayuri and nodded. He cleared his throat before he spoke as to get everyone's full and undivided attention.

"There has been an anomaly that somehow has been traveling between the Soul Society, Huecho Mundo and the World of the Living. How, I cannot fathom but I wish I could find it and make it my research subject, would be fascinating how it can move between dimensions without the need of a Garganta, or anything that we can detect in general," Yamamato starred impatiently at Mayuri who paused for a moment to look at his Captain-Commander, "right, this anomaly. We have no information on what it is, but we only know it by its unusual signature once it enters one of the dimensions. This signal is the complete absence of nearly all reiatsu in the immediate area. Though surprisingly enough it does not absorb the reishi itself, just the pressure in general; would make a fascinating test subject I may say again."

"So we don't know what this anomaly looks like?" Soifon asked scolding the twelfth division captain.

"We only know it by its presence, or lack there of," Mayuri said tapping the long fingernail of his middle finger on his forehead, "but as we speak the anomaly is jumping between the dimensions rather sporadically as if it is searching for something."

"By the time any forces got there it was already gone," A new voice, a soft familiar females voice said entering the hall, "Sorry for my tardiness." The voice belonged to Nelleil Tu Oderschwank, her long greenish hair came down her waist and she was wearing a white version of the Shihakusho that fit tightly around her ample frame. The Shinigami captains were quiet as she looked from face to face; she could not believe how dense their collected spiritual pressure was. Though she was seen as an equal to most of the captains, the pressure would be enough to crush any one lesser than she.

"Do not fret, Nelleil-san," Captain-Commander Yamamato said roughly, "at least you were able to make it as one of our newest captains cannot…" She remembered hearing about a new captain of the Fifth Division and upon looking over the familiar faces again, his words were confirmed. She has heard many things from the Shinigami who patrol Huecho Mundo with her and Tier Halibel's fraccion, but never got a clear image of what he looked like in her head. She had fallen into her own thoughts again, completely forgetting that she was being spoken to by a superior

"… what?" She blinked after he went silent, she swore he asked a question but did not hear it clearly. She got a few scolds from a couple of the captains; especially the ones who dispised anything hollow related. They, Captain Byakuya, Captain Hitsugaya, and Captain Komamura mainly did not like the fact that her presence was even allowed in the Seireitei, no matter how much of an asset she has become.

"Do you have any information on the anomaly?" Captain-Commander Yamamato repeated, more harshly. That is why she is here now, in front of all the captains; after the fall of Aizen and the Arrancar war, Huecho Mundo was left in ruins leaving only the few remaining espada to take command while Harribal became the new ruler of Las Noches. At that time Nel was still locked in her child form, and under the care of Halibel, she was able to regain her adult stature. There were a few incidents where she reverted back into her child self after exerting her self to much in purging a few hollows.

"Well the only thing that we have been able to speculate is that the anomaly you seek is actually a hollow of some sort," Nel said as she looked around the room, "though the exact strength, size and reiatsu of this hollow is unknown. All we know is that it has many Arrancar colonies scared."

"I see, send word back to Las Noches to keep up the search," The captain-commander said. Even though Huecho Mundo is its own entity, it has become almost of a new proverb of the Soul Society; it runs itself but it ultimately answers to the Central 46 and Yamamato himself.

"Also we have not been able to find the two lost Shinigami," Nel said quietly looking at the distressed Captain Ukitake's face as he looked at her, "I'm sorry." She looked away when his expression turned even more dreadful. They must have been close to Ukitake for the way he reacted.

"They were under my care Ukitake-sempai," She said softly.

"It is not your fault that they got lost during that sandstorm," Ukitake reassured her, smiling as much as he could. She went to speak again but Yamamato lifted up his hand and everyone fell silent.

"Send a Jigokucho out to the Rukongai to call Amagi-san and his subordinates back," Yamamato looked at the captains before he continued, "we are on high alert, so Neillel-san you are to stay and accompany Mayuri-san on investigating the anomaly as well as any new information on Huecho Mundo. Everyone else is to go back to their respected barracks and stay there until further notice. Dismissed." He waved his hand and they all stood up at once and bowed deeply before turning toward the door.

Nel followed suit, she did not care what she had to do while she stayed in the Seireitei, but she would rather anything else than to be stuck with Mayuri; he creeps her out and every time he sees her, he blatantly informs her that he would have rather have her as his test subject than an equal.

"Nel-san," Ukitake said as they exited the massive white tower, he gently put his hand on her shoulder to get her to stop walking, "I do not blame you, I do not blame anyone. These sorts of things happen and I hate how it had to happen when we have something that we know nothing about running loose there."

"When I get back I will do everything I can to find them," Nel said smiling as she looked upon the mans distressed face. She tried her best to look at comforting him. He nodded and lifted his hand when Mayuri walked up to them.

"Don't worry Nelleil-kohai, I promise I won't do any tests on you," Mayuri gave her is usual eerie grin as he beckoned her to follow, "yet." She shot Ukitake a horrified look as she unwillingly followed behind Mayuri.

"I don' know Unohana-sama," Kyoraku said as they walked down the main road side by side to their respected barracks, "just something about all this does not make any sense."

"What does not make sense Shunsui-san?" Unohana asked not looking at the captain next to her.

"This anomaly," he added, "it has alluded our forces for months, no one has ever seen what it actually looks like and it seems to be searching for someone or something." He sighed and adjusted his hat on his head, "ah hell, could be just me over thinking things."

"No, you are right," She reassured, "but what strikes me as peculiar is that it first appeared shortly after Amagi-san arrived." Kyoraku stopped dead in his tracks and looked over at her.

"I did not think of that," he questioned," but are you saying that he might have something to do with this?"

"Oh no, never said such a thing," She smiled at him making him slightly un easy; he recognized which smile that was, "good day Shunsui-sama," and she was gone, leaving him to ponder on the possibilities she just opened up to him. His oldest and dearest friend never seems to change; she always leaves him with something to wrap him head around.

* * *

They were in study hall, Orihime sat on a tan sofa with her school books laid out on the small table in front of her while Ichigo sat against the window that over looked the city before him. Ichigo had his back against the steel window frame and had one leg tucked up against his chest while the other hung freely below him.

Orihime, who was just deeply focused on her school work, sighed as she leaned back in the chair. She looked up and admired the man she loved so dearly; how much he has matured since they were younger, and how caring he truly was, no matter how much he tried to hide it. He meant the world to her and she would do anything in her powers to protect him. Though she knew him to well, and seeing him sitting in the window she knew far to well that he was depressed. She hated seeing him like this; it made her feel helpless. Hopping to her feet she walked over to him and climbed into the window opposite Ichigo. She watched the spiky haired man for a moment before she spoke up.

"What's wrong Kurosaki-kun?" he looked up at her and tried his best at a reassuring smile, but ultimately did not have the affect he wanted.

"Nothing," He said flatly, and turned his attention back to the window.

"Kurosaki-kun, I know you far to well," reached over and gently guided his head by his chin to face her, she gave him a stern look before she continued, "I know what is bothering you, and please talk to me about it." He sighed, he knew fighting it was no use; she was concerned for him. He loved her to much, and hated to have her worry about him.

"I…" he began but he could not find the words to describe him sad and depressed he was, "I should be happy that I can now live a normal life, but I got to involved in the dealings of the dead that I actually miss it. I miss knowing that I could protect you no matter what," he said reaching over, gently brushing Orihime's long full red hair behind her ear, "I miss everything about it really." Ever since Ichigo used his Final Zangetsu on Aizen during their battle, his powers slowly diminished, and it was not until just recently when that world he grew so accustomed to vanished. He could no longer see the spirits floating around, and not matter how hard he tried, he could not sense his beloved's reiatsu, no matter how close she was to him. Losing that power, that ability, was as if he lost his true identity and was no longer himself.

"I understand," Orihime said softly as she took his hand from the side of her face and gently kissed the palm.

"We know what's out there, and now I have no way of protecting you," Ichigo said leaning back against the metal frame.

"No, Kurosaki-kun," Orihime said firmly, "You have protected me for far too long. Let me do the one who is doing the protecting, as much as you hate it, ok?" She replaced his hand on the side of her face and leaned her head into it. He hated that idea, but he had no choice, she still had her powers, this fullbringer ability he heard Urahara clam it was. He thought it was a silly name but it made her happy and she enjoyed it so he did not question it.

"Ok Orihime-chan," He sighed leaning forward closer to her.

"Good," She smiled at him coyly. She leaned into him and they kissed; Orihime blushed as she was lost in the flood of emotions.

"Oh what the fuck," Ichigo broke away when his phone suddenly decided to kill the mood. He pulled it from his pocket and looked at the large vibrantly colored screen. He stared blankly at it for a few minutes before he held it up for the curious Orihime to read, "It's a text from Yuzu-chan."

"Niisan, Kuchiki-sama wants to come visit you; apparently there is something urgent that she needs to talk to you about. Expect them soon," Orihime read. She looked up at Ichigo and gave him a concerned look, "I hope they come using their Gigai."

"As do I," Ichigo said with some disappointment; besides Orihime, no one else knows that his Shinigami powers are completely gone.

* * *

They had only been there for not even a half hour when suddenly the alarms sounded.

"Captain, come quick!" a Shinigami said as he sat at the large computer monitor, "something odd is coming up on the scanners. I think it is the anomaly."

"About time," Mayuri said as he walked up behind him, Nel was not far behind, she hated every minute she had to spend in this dark room. Even if there were other people around; she still felt very uncomfortable. "Where is it originating from?"

The Shinigami gave him a grave look as he tried to speak, "beyond the Rukongai, around where Amagi-sama was doing his training exercise. One minute they were on scanners, next minute the entire area disappears from them." Even Mayuri looked distressed as Amagi has no idea what is happening.

"I hope that Jigokucho has made it there on time," the Shinigami said as he looked back at the scanner; where the Rukongai once was is now just a dark spot. The alarms continued to sound.


	38. A Stroll Through the Woods

Chapter 38 A Stroll Through the Woods

_So much for a simple exercise, _Nia thought as she pushed her way through the underbrush. She had lost what little trace there was of Amagi some time after they entered the woods, and even worse, she was not able to sense Momo, Rangiku or the other part of the Division that was split up to cover a different part of the woods. Her blood was boiling, and as time dragged by she grew less and less capable of controlling her temper, and they have been in the woods nearly half the day. Every time Nia would shout at them for any little reason, Third Seat Tsukune would jump and nearly drop to the ground practically on instinct; though he was smart and talented, he was severely skittish.

"Well there goes another one," Nia grumbled as she heard the distinct snap of a twig followed by an earthy moan of a tree branch and than a man groaning. She brushed her red bangs from her face in frustration, her anger was building up so much that she did not bother to look behind her to see one of the newest recruits; a bald slim young man was dangling upside down a few yards to her right. Amagi's little game was getting rather annoying.

"Ma'am," Tsukune stuttered slightly as he stopped walking to look back at the man flailing his arms trying to get down, "at this point and under these circumstances I think it would be best that we, er, well, we cut the unfortunate out of the trees." Nia looked over at him in suspicion, but knew that he was right; she needed everyone with her when, and if, they find Amagi.

"Well, guess you're right," Nia turned to a pair of soldiers and pointed at the bald man in the trees, "cut Boota down. Please." She was trying to not sound so harsh but it did not work so well.

"Though there is something else though," Tsukune said cautiously. He ran his hand through his short blue hair while he thumbed the side of his leg nervously. Nia noticed and raised a brow in suspicion.

"Yeah well go on," She barked unintentionally as she continued to walk through the thick underbrush of the woods. He followed only a step behind her.

"Do you sense that?"

"Sense what?" Nia asked giving him a confused look over her shoulder.

"Exactly,"

"No seriously," Nia stopped dead in her tracks and turned to face Tsukune, glaring at him, "what am I supposed to sense?" She was not quite getting what he meant, but than again, she quickly found out when he was first recruited that he tended to talk nonsense.

"When was the last time you were actually able to sense Amagi's reiatsu?" Tsukune asked trying to get what he meant across to his superior. Nia closed her eyes and tilted her head as she focused all of her strength into pin pointing Amagi's reiatsu, but there was a problem; she was not able to sense his, or let alone anyone close by.

"Hm, that's weird," Nia spoke, "wonder if that is Amagi's doing."

"No, I doubt it," Tsukune said he stood in front of Nia and had began to tap the side of his leg rhythmically, something was bothering him and he was not letting it out, "it has to be something else."

"If it's not Amagi than what is it?" Nia looked around at the still trees and noticed that there was no residual pressure from anything at all. _What the hell is going on?_ Nia thought to herself as she looked up into the evening sky that peaked through the tops of the massive trees.

"What do you want us to do ma'am?" Tsukune asked nervously.

"Shh," Nia said pointing to Tsukune's nervous habit, "we have to get the rest of the squads back together so we can discuss what to do. Do you know where they are at least?" He opened his mouth to speak but nothing came out; he was interrupted by a huge shockwave of reiatsu that made the trees bend and branches break. A few of the division members lost balance and were thrown hard into the soft earth or against a nearby tree. Usually after a shockwave like that, there would be remaining reiatsu and could easily be sensed, but something was odd about this particular one; there was no residual reiatsu, in fact the shockwave had little to none to begin with.

"That was Amagi's reiatsu, even with how little there was, his is always unmistakable to me," Nia said facing the direction from which the epicenter lay. She grew uneasy with the situation unfolding around her. Was Amagi in trouble? Or did he too realize something was amiss.

"Something is not right in these woods," Tsukune said quietly as he darted his attention from tree to tree. The underbrush was thin in these parts, but the shadows cast by the trees played tricks on their eyes.

"No, your right," Nia said looking back at her subordinates as the vast majority of them were helping others to their feet or taking a much needed rest, "can't let out guard down now, but I hope Amagi realizes this too."

Kneeling down, Amagi panted heavily; he blasted out as much reiatsu as physically could, which left him exhausted. He looked around at the damage he caused and knew that if they could not sense him, they would have surely felt the shockwave he made. With the amount of reiatsu used, in a normal circumstance, that shockwave would have leveled the forest and would have been felt all the way to the Seireitei. This was not looking good for him.

He had a feeling that something was going happen and quickly regretted using up so much of his strength; the air seemed to becoming stale and heavy, and the wind was dying away. The usual sounds of wildlife that echoed through the trees had long gone quiet.

"Looks like things will be getting rather interesting," He said as he stood up, his hand resting on hilt of his zanpakuto at his side. He looked into the blue sky, waiting for the rest of his Division to find him.

"It was this way Rangiku-san!" Momo shouted pointing in the direction from which the shockwave came.

"Yeah I think you're right," Rangiku said following behind her, "you know, wasn't this supposed to be a simple exercise?"

"Er, it was supposed to be," Momo said, "though it didn't go as planned I guess."

"Stupid Amagi," Rangiku grumbled, "Always like him to cause problems for everyone else, and this is too much searching and running for my liking."

"Well, at least you weren't sitting in the office getting drunk again," Momo giggled as they ran. The dozen men and women in her squad were at her heels as they ran through the light underbrush.

"Could sure use a shot of sake about now," Rangiku panted, they came across a few fallen trees that looked fresh.

"We must be getting close, cause look," Momo pointed to a bright wall of light growing ahead of them," that's where the forest ends I think." Rangiku only nodded and moments later they were engulfed in the wall of light and it took all of them a few moments for their eyes to adjust to the non obscured sunlight.

"Well look what we have here!" Amagi said as their eyes fully adjusted to the light and saw him standing at the center of an open field; he was surrounded by trees that had been blasted over pointing outwards away from him, "Now just have to wait for Nia and the others to come find us." Amagi said cheerfully, he was relieved that they got the hint and were still able to follow the direction where the shockwave originated.

"So what the hell is going on?" Nia shouted as she entered the open space on the opposite side of Momo and Rangiku. Both squads of the Division converged and stood at the ready around them.

"Don't you feel that?" Amagi asked coyly raising his hands slightly, his palms facing the sky.

"No, that's the problem Amagi-sama," Tsukune stepped past Nia and saluted his captain.

"Exactly!" Amagi said in an awkwardly cheerful manner, and both Rangiku and Nia knew the moment he got in this sort of over joyous mood like this, that something major was about to happen. "What ever this is, it is only absorbing the excess reiatsu that us, and everything else gives off, but nothing more. What ever is doing this even has Tenshi worried."

"Tenshi?" Tsukune asked aloud but was not able to catch himself on time.

"Yes," Amagi said, looking at his Third Seat and placing a hand on the hilt of his zanpakuto, "that's the name of my zanpakuto."

"I see," Tsukune said in wonder as he starred at the sheathed sword at Amagi's side.

"Well are you orders than Taichou?" Nia in a soft tone, upon finding Amagi her built up temper had dissipated. He looked at her and winked.

"First things first," Amagi clapped his hands together, "Everyone here? Anyone notice someone missing? I laid plenty of traps out there and hopefully no one was left behind." It was silent, eerily silent. Amagi noticed that the wind had finally stopped; the only sound he heard was every individuals breathing, their soft heartbeats, their footsteps in the soft earth and nothing more. He was on edge, this was not right.

"Everyone is here and accounted for Taichou," Momo said as she looked around at all the faces from the Division.

"Good, now we need to get the fuck out of here," Amagi said, he tried to keep his voice completely calm, but by the way Nia was looking at him, at least some sense of worry came through, "something is not right here at all, and once we get back to the Seireitei I have to inform the Captain-commander about this. That is if they don't already know." The last part was mainly him thinking aloud, but every one nodded in agreement.

"Alright, you heard the man," Nia barked, "get moving!" Nia ran out in front of her subordinates at began to sprint; everyone else followed closely behind her. Soon, they were all out of sight, leaving Amagi standing in the clearing by himself. He looked up at the cloudless sky and saw that it was growing late in the evening. _Show yourself what ever you are, _Amagi thought as he broke his gaze to follow the rest of his division.

"Are you coming Amagi-kun?" Rangiku shouted as she noticed that he had not moved, he was now looking up into the sky as if waiting for something.

"Go ahead," He said calmly, "I will take up the rear, you just follow Nia-chan ok?" She moved to protest but Amagi just looked down and smiled at her, "I will be fine, just tell her I will be right behind everyone." Rangiku nodded slightly, but she did not feel right leaving him behind, but he is the Captain after all, he should be fine.

"Where the hell is Amagi-kun," Nia grumbled as she stopped and looked behind her. She was expecting to see him not far behind her, but he was no where to be seen. They were nearing the forests edge and the evening sunlight was breaking through the tall branches of the trees. The rest of the division casually walked on heading towards the shoreline of the lake just beyond the forest.

"Nia-san," Rangiku said as she appeared next to her, "Amagi-kun said he was going to follow behind. I don't know why either." Nia attempted to pin back the large bang that fell across her face but soon gave up; she was too distracted.

"And he sent you to tell me?" Nia asked, watching Rangiku shift uneasy on the balls of her feet, she was looking over her shoulder back into the depths of the forest, Amagi was still no where to be found and the rest of the division had long passed, "The most we can do is wait for him at the rendezvous point." Rangiku turned and opened her mouth to protest, and Nia knew what she was thinking but cut her off; that they go and find him, to not leave him behind like that.

"No, if we go and find him we will only piss him off," Nia sighed, again brushing her bangs to the side, "we continue and hope that he gets back quickly."

An extremely loud tearing sound echoed through the dead silent trees. This sound was terrifyingly familiar to Nia; it was not a Garganta opening nor was it any other sound another Shinigami would recognize. Only she and Amagi would know. She turned to Rangiku who was trying to find a break in the trees to look up and see what that was, but Nia grabbed her arm and gave her a horrid look.

"We need to go get the others," she gasped, "and fast!" The two of them used Shunpo and darted through the trees as fast as they could. As they went they heard a deep and loud spine tingling hissing coming from somewhere above them. They nearly broke through the forest when the ground shook and a loud explosion rumbled through the trees. Rangiku looked behind her to see where that explosion came from but could not see anything.

"Momo-san," Nia yelled as she and Rangiku blasted from the forest, Momo and Tsukune where frozen in fear as they looked up into the sky.

"Futaichou," Momo breathed as she pointed a shaky finger at what they were all looking at. Nia turned around and gasped as she saw a massive tear across the evening sky. Within the shadows of the tear, two large bright red eyes watched them. Those eyes were piercing, menacing and sent shivers down Nia's back. Some of the Shinigami dropped to the ground and covered their ears when what ever this thing was roared; it caused the ground itself to shake and the leaves in the trees to rustle madly.

The roar was followed by something else; a jet of flames that was so large in diameter that it threatened to engulf the entire fifth division. There were screams and shouts as some tried to run, Nia watched in horror as the flames grew closer, the heat was tremendous and the light emanating from it reflected off her pupils. Her light pale green eyes reflected orange as the flames grew closer. Just as she thought it was to late, that this is were it ended for her, she closed her eyes and waited. Though it never came, instead when she opened her eyes again she saw that they were surrounded by a yelled dome.

"Tsukune," Nia said as she looked over at the third seat of division five and saw that he had activated his zanpakuto and had the tip pointing towards the sky. The flames arced around the dome and blasted the area around them, "everyone ok?" She turned back and saw that the rest of her subordinates were just as shocked with Tsukune as she was. He never had been quite able to control the Kido shield that his zanpakuto creates but Nia was glad that now he was. They all nodded in shock, some did not even move as they watched the orange wall around them warp and twist around them.

Nia suddenly realized her captain, the man she could not live without was no where to be seen; he was still out there and her worst fear was that he was caught in the flames as they flooded the forest. Horror and fear over took her as she screamed out his name at the top of her lungs.

The massive black steel doors creaked open revealing a gigantic vaulted room. The room was lined with massive pillars that supported the high arced ceiling. Combinations of curved and jagged designs were carved into the ceiling as well as the inside of pillars facing the opposite wall. The carvings shone with a bright white light which illuminated the massive room and cast eerie shadows on the gray stone walls. Every so often a section of light would fade to blue and follow along the patterns giving the impression that the light was moving and tracing out the designs.

The doors slammed shut behind the average height woman after she entered the room. She had short pink hair and her blue eyes shone as the light hit them. Her long black dress dragged along the ground as she walked, making her appear to be floating above the stone floors. The corset top of the dress made her slender figure and ample breasts more shapely and the gems that lined the cups glistened in the soft light. It was a good distance walk from the gigantic steel doors to the center of the room where an old man in an oversized cloak stood, leaning against his cane.

"Otosan," the girl said upon reaching the man, his dark gray eyes fell on the girl as she kneeled at his feet, "it has encountered both of them and has started attacking."

"Good," The mans voice was hoarse and sounded weak, "Those pesky little pets of Aku-me really do have their uses. Let's see how this one does as its now at full term."


	39. The Forest of Flames

Chapter 39 The Forest of Flames

Nia watched the flames flicker and lick harshly at the dome that surrounded her and the others. This shield was mainly the work of Tsukune but others, doing what they can to help, joined in by adding in what little help they could. The flames blasting down on them were relentless and seemed like it would never end.

"Tsukune-san," Nia said softly after a loud cracking joined in on the roar of the fire. She looked up at the epicenter where the flames first contact the barrier and saw cracks beginning to form and branch out in all directions, "don't push yourself."

"Tsch," He grunted, sweat was pouring down his forehead and running down his cheeks before dripping off unto the warming earth below, "I don't know how much longer I can hold this," His knees began to shake as he was nearing his limit, this was just to much for him to handle. Though he had help from his fellow subordinates, it still was not enough to take off much of the pressure that was beating down on him.

"Where's Taichou?" Nia heard someone plead; she could hear the fear and desperation in the girl's voice.

"He was probably fried like we will be shortly!" A mans voice replied, and this ticked Nia off. She turned in the direction of where the voice came from but stopped herself from yelling. The looks on all her subordinates faces was enough; most of the ones not helping Tsukune were huddled together shaking in fear, while others stood and paced either in anger or out of anxiety. She felt pity on all of them, was this really the end? Was this really how she and everyone were going to die? Trapped like rats just waiting for the furnace to turn on.

"I don't want to die, not like this," She thought to herself as she felt an empty feeling grow in her chest, "Amagi, where are you?"

"Nia-chan," Rangiku whispered as she walked up to her and grabbed her wrist gently, "Im sure Amagi-kun is on his way, there has to be a reason why he hasn't gotten here sooner but you and I will have to smack him around a bit for it."

"Yeah," Nia tried her best at a comforting smile, but somehow she knew it was flat, "I know, he will pay for making us worry so much." Rangiku nodded in agreement, but deep down Nia knew the situation was grave; the barrier was breaking and the flames that the dragon hollow seemed like it would never end.

Tears started to build up in Nia's eyes as she thought back to everything she has done up until this point. Until she met Amagi, she had no purpose; she had nothing to live for so she would follow Aku around and do his horrible biddings.

"Nia-san," She remembered Aku growl from underneath his long brown cloak, the hood covering his aged face. This was decades ago, just before she met the man who would change her life.

"Yes Sensei?" Nia had said flatly, her long bangs covered her face as she examined the ground; her face, grey shirt and blue jeans were stained red. She ignored her sensei, Aku, and looked at the scene before her; a dozen men and women lay slain and cut apart at her feet. Their blood stained the grass around them.

"There is a small task we are to do," He said stepping over the corpses, looking straight at Nia.

"And?" Nia said sounding cold; she glared at him as he approached her.

"There is someone we are to recruit," Aku stopped and looked around him before locking his eyes back on Nia, "this one you cannot kill, under any circumstances."

"Why not?" She narrowed her as it him, she had gained a bloodlust that seemed to go unsatisfied no matter who or how many she killed. She hated the thought of not killing someone.

"He is important," Aku growled.

"Not much of a reason why not to," Nia flicked her zanpakuto that she had at her side, the blood that was running down the blades edge flicked off into the grass, "maybe I should just kill him just because."

"Don't you do that anyways?" Aku said harshly, "Isn't that all you're good for? Is to do my dirty work? You seem to get pleasure out of killing everything that moves, doesn't matter if they oppose me or not."

"Fuck you," She spat, tightening her grip on the hilt. She was quick to anger and he was not helping.

"I would be surprised if you even HAD the capacity to smile because you were genuinely happy, or even had the ability to love another instead of wanting them all dead. Am I getting it in your head yet?"

"Keep going Kuso-jijii and you will be next," Nia reached back over her left shoulder and slide the blade noisily into its sheath that was strapped to her back.

"Nothing but hatred," Aku laughed as he pushed the tip of the blade to the side, "no compassion at all. Just the way it should be."

'What am I supposed to do?' Nia had thought to herself as she watched Aku walk past her, stepping over more corpses, 'am I not able to love? Can I not show an ounce of compassion for anything?' She shook her head as she turned around and walked away, 'I have nothing to live for so why should I?' At the time, Nia had no idea that this man that she and Aku were to find would ultimately change her life. He gave her a reason to live, to finally love and have compassion. This man, Amagi, changed her from the killing machine she only knew herself as for so long. It was all subtle at first, she played hard to get, but she grew to love this man, and he has taught her so many things; one of them was hope. In the direst of situations, no matter how harsh they were, it was ok to have hope; hope for a resolution, hope that there was another way out.

Now, as she watched the barrier around her begin to crack and shards started to fall, she had hope; she had hope that the man she loved more than anything in the world was out there, trying his hardest to find a way to stop the hollow.

"I can't… I can't hold it any longer," Tsukune forced himself to say, he was at his limit and the barrier was just seconds away from failing completely. There was not much he could do; his time was running out. All of theirs were.

The kidu barrier started cracking, and in certain locations, small jets of flames blasted inward. The cracks spider webbed and grew in number until the barrier was just moments away from shattering. Suddenly, without warning, and in the same moment the barrier gave out, the roaring of the fire had stopped. It all happened in a blink of an eye that no one noticed at first. They all blinked at the sudden sunlight, while others had shut their eyes in the last moments.

"What the fuck just happened?" Rangiku said looking around at the destruction around them. The forest in front of them was ablaze. Flames licking high into the sky with the dragon hollow no where to be seen. The earth around the barrier was charred and scarred black; while the earth that was inside the barrier was still green and healthy.

"Where's the hollow?" Nia asked herself aloud, expecting no one to answer, which no one did.

"Futaichou," Momo said softly, clasping her hands together at her chest, "we have injured and we need to get them evacuated quickly." Nia did not turn to face her, but stood staring emptily at the raging fires.

"Momo-chan, take everyone and get out of here quickly, getting the wounded to safety and getting the medical attention they require is top priority."

"But what about you Nia-san?" Momo asked not leaving Nia's side.

"I am going to stay and look for Amagi-kun."

"I'm staying too," Rangiku demanded, "anyways it's not like YOU can order me around."

"True," Nia turned her head towards Rangiku and tilted it slightly, "and even if I try to you would ignore anyways." Rangiku grinned and reached behind her head.

"Well it's not like I would be much use helping them get back to the Seireitei," Rangiku lowered her voice just enough for Nia to hear; "I kinda forgot how we got here."

"Oh that's wonderful," Nia laughed, but she quickly changed her tone, "Momo-san, how many are missing, dead and severely wounded?"

"Besides Amagi-domo being missing, we have three others missing and a dozen others who are severely burned. The rest who are injured are able to walk and help with the others."

"Good," Nia said placing a hand on her hip, "we will have to come back after this is all over and do thorough searches of the area for the missing, as of now, do as I ordered." Momo bowed slightly and turned to the others.

"You head her, let's get moving!" Momo shouted. Some protested, stating they can still fight, while others were eager to get out of there with their lives. Nia watched, and even helped, as her division started to move, Momo walking out in front with a few others who were uninjured while the vast majority, caring the wounded as well as themselves, across the charred field alongside the lake. Even though some still protested leaving the battlefield, they still did either way; Nia's orders were always final.

"Now what?" Rangiku asked turning to Nia as the last of the group carried Tsukune away on their shoulders. Nia shrugged her shoulders and sighed.

"Hell, haven't thought that far ahead," Nia said matter-of-factly. Rangiku reached up to massage the bridge of her nose while she reached around her mid section to grasp her hip. Nia's answer annoyed her just slightly.

"That's wonderful," Rangiku said sarcastically, "let's stay behind to see if the dragon hollow reappears so we can-"She jumped back and screamed while Nia nearly fell over in fright. What was nothing between them and the blazing forest just a moment ago, a figure materialized from what seemed like thin air to stand just a foot in front of both of them. His black Shihakusho was tattered, burned and shredded in many places. He carried three bodies; on across his shoulder, and two under each arm. She could see the fifth seat Ai with her long black hair falling freely across her unconscious face. The others she could not tell and when she saw them better she nearly lost her stomach. Their bodies were burned beyond recognition; the first fatalities of the new Fifth Division. This angered Nia beyond belief.

"What the fuck Amagi-kun!" Nia spat, "where the fuck have you been!" She took a step closer.

"I'm sorry," Amagi said flatly, his voice was hoarse, "I could not save these two," he set the two bodies gently on the ground, "but Ai-san needs medical attention." Nia noted the awkwardness in his voice. It was different; not hoarse but not raspy either.

"Where have you been?" she repeated, her anger had turned into relief that he was here, she felt tears come to her eyes.

"Run," Amagi stood up and said harshly, he had his back to them the entire time.

"What for?" Rangiku asked, giving Amagi a confused stare.

"Don't question," Amagi said more harshly, "Just run." And with that, Amagi was gone, vanishing before their eyes, but there he was, nearly in the same instant, at the beginning of the burning forest, flames licked the sky, dancing around him. Nia watched him questioningly, she did not understand what was going on, and the speed he just showed was breathtaking; it was as if he teleported from spot to spot rather than using his sonniku Shunpo. There was no residual reiatsu from his jump, nothing at all which was highly unusual.

Amagi placed his hands in his pocket and looked over his left shoulder, back towards Nia. Something was odd about his face, and she could not place her finger on it; it was dark, almost black and then there were his eyes. Those eyes! His eyes were glowing a bright green.

"I said RUN!" His voice hissed now, and it sounded distant, not as if he was yelling, but as if he was talking to her in a cave, his voice echoing around the stone walls.

"We need to go," Nia stammered, trying to lift Ai in her arms, "Help me with Ai-san; we can come back for the bodies later."

"Why? What's going on?" But she did not have to wait long for an answer; the ground shook violently and the sounds of tree trunks and limbs snapping underneath a great pressure over whelmed the roar of the fires. Rangiku helped Nia by wrapping one of Ai's arms around her shoulder and the two of them lifted the unconscious girl and began to run.

"Oh shit," Nia stammered as black scaly skin of the dragon hallow rose up from the flames, than its long neck followed by its piercing red eyes. It straightened itself and spread its leather wings and let out a deep howl, heat pouring from its throat.

"Faster!" Nia shouted, the dragon lurched its head forward to try and intercept the fleeing girls, but something struck its jaw just as the flames began to flow. The impact created a loud snap as the teeth slammed together. The napalm like substance oozed from between the hand length teeth.

They were clear from range, but they did not slow down, and soon they began to synchronize their Shunpo techniques. Though Rangiku was leading them in a different direction than the Seireitei; she explained she knew a spot where they could watch from a safe distance.

"This is some view," Nia said as she gently laid down Ai who was still unconscious. She was right, from atop of the hill Nia could see for miles, even the outside wall of the Seireitei. On a normal day, the sunlight reflecting off the large deep blue lake right next to the dark green of the trees would have been breathtaking. Though on this day it was a sight of horrors; the entire forest was ablaze, from where they were when they were attacked to the farthest reaches. The hollow at the center stood out like a sore thumb in the sea of oranges and reds, strangely enough; there was no haze or a single plumb of smoke bellowing from the fire. This struck Nia as odd, and she was about to mention this to Rangiku when the hollow screeched in pain.

With a flap of its massive wings it was airborne and quickly gaining altitude. Nia and Rangiku watching in disbelief as it was trying to flee, escape something more terrifying and monstrous than itself. Than it struck Nia; Amagi's dark face, those glowing eyes, and even his voice. Was this what Amagi warned her about his bankai? He said there was a catch to using his bankai and he still did not have complete control.

'If I loose control while using my bankai,' Amagi said one day while they were walking trough the wilderness of Amazon, 'don't hesitate to either run or kill me,' was this what it was? Something that had one of the most terrifying hollow she ever seen run in fear?

"Amagi-kun," Nia said, taking a step forward, "don't do it,"

'There is a trigger to watch out for that means I have lost control,' He continued.

'But I can't, you know I wont,' She had protested,

'Do it for me, ok Tsukushii-rin?' He pulled her into his embrace and kissed her passionately on her lips.

"Fight it," Nia said, watching as the dragon suddenly stopped and began to fall from the sky, "Please for me, Anata."

"What are you talking about Nia-chan?" Rangiku asked, she did not know what she was talking about and wanted to know what was going on, why the hollow was trying to escape.

"Have you ever seen Amagi-kun's bankai?" Nia turned to Rangiku and gave hr a grave look. She shook her head.

"No, I don't think he had even mastered his shikai when he was exiled to the world of the living."

"He showed it to me once," Nia said quickly, "and I could barely stand within twenty feet of him without feeling like I was going to be crushed to death."

"Seriously?" Rangiku said in disbelief, she knew he was strong, but never thought his bankai would be THAT powerful.

Nia did not even get a chance to respond when a flash of light eradiated from middle of the forest. The hollow was airborne again and was moving with more haste than he was before; he was fleeing for what little existence it had. From the depths of the forest another flash of light blasted outward, this time Nia and Rangiku could see trees being uprooted, thrown about in every direction. From that blast, a deep blue dome grew and grew in size until it engulfed half of what remained of the charred forest.

"Don't you fucking dare," Nia said desperately as her feet began to move, she was on auto pilot, trying to get to Amagi before he did the inevitable. She used her Shunpo to gain much ground, but it still was not enough.

"AMAGI!" Nia screamed as the dome osculated twice before imploding in on itself, sending out another shockwave which raced toward her. She was stopped mid jump and was thrown hard against the ground, knocking the wind out of her. As it hit its epicenter, a beam erupted into the sky after the hollow dragon. It was nearly about to escape into a tear it opened up into anther dimension when the beam caught up to it. It screamed as ever particle, every atom in its body was ripped apart. The beam did not stop there; it continued on to what ever dimension the beast opened its portal too.

Nia cried, the tears streaming down her cheeks, "Why? Why did you use your cero? You are a fucking asshole." She was close enough to the forest to hear someone shouting, screaming on the top of his lungs, as if he was on some rampage that had no end.


	40. The Incident

Chapter 40

Ichigo was staring out the window next to him, his head propped up on his elbow which was firmly planted on the wooden table. He has been trying to stay strong for Orihime, but it was tough under the circumstances; loosing his Shinigami powers made him feel weak and unneeded. Before he was the one doing the protecting and the one risking his life for others, now he can barely beat up the college bully. Had he relied so much on his powers that his own physical strength diminished? And now Rukia showing up before he could say anything about completely loosing his powers was the icing on the cake. What was he to do now? He felt useless and pathetic.

'Was this how Orihime-chan felt when she first got her powers?' Ichigo though to himself, letting out a rather loud and deep sigh, 'I was such an asshole for not realizing this sooner.'

"Ichi-kun," Ichigo felt a soft jab at his side, Orihime's voice did not really snap him out of his day dreaming.

"KUROSAKI ICHIGO!" A loud, deep and harsh voice boomed through the room, nearly scaring the piss out of poor Ichigo. He launched himself straight out of the chair and stood with his back straight. The professor was short, but was a burley man, very well built for a balding middle aged man.

"Sensei!" Ichigo shot back blushing deeply. He quickly realized how foolish his reaction was. He was so lost in his thoughts he did not hear the professor calling out his name.

"Sit down Kurosaki-kun," and immediately Ichigo sat down, glancing over at a still giggling Orihime. She sat in the seat next to him, "I understand that it is fun to day dream about your bedroom escapades," and with that Ichigo shot Orihime another glance; she had stopped giggling and turned a deep red, it was Ichigo's turn to laugh, "but in this class room you are here to learn, if you want to frolic in the sheets with some girl you can later AFTER you finished you homework." Ichigo was trying hard from laughing loudly, but the professor's talk made Orihime slightly uncomfortable.

"So now, back to the topic," The professor pointed to name written on the chalk board, "Tell me Kurosaki-kun, who is Niccolo Machiavelli?" The Professor gave him a sly grin, as if he knew that poor Ichigo would not know the answer; he loved putting him on the spot about things like this.

After a short pause Ichigo spoke, unsure of what to say, "Wasn't he the crazy Italian guy who said it was better to be feared than loved or something like that?" The room fell silent, "Er yeah, ok," Ichigo said slowly as the room remained silent. He was glad Orihime was there to help him with his school work, especially politics, which he hated the most.

* * *

A little bit later, the bell rang and Ichigo and Orihime were walking along the sidewalk, headed back to their apartment. Ichigo was a few paces of her and he had is hands planted deeply into the pockets of his black jeans. A light breeze ruffled his spiky orange hair as he went; he was again deep in thought. Orihime was as well as she watched his every stride. Ichigo would say that we was fine as long as she was with him, and they finally had their chance to live life they wanted, as normal young adults without the burdens of the Seireitei, but she knew deep down that Ichigo was in pain.

"Ichi-kun," Orihime said lightly, with one hand she held her school bag against the front of her legs, holding down her knee length skirt, and with the other she brushed her hair out of her face for the breeze did not help with either.

"What's up?" Ichigo said as he stopped walking, partially turning around to look at her.

"We agreed that now we can live our lives the way we wanted to, without interference and all that," Orihime fiddled with the strap of the bag, "but there has to be a way for you to get your powers back. Maybe if we just take Kuchiki-chan up on her offer-," Ichigo didn't let her finish, he took the two steps that separated the two of them and scooped her up in his arms, pulling her in close. He placed one hand behind her head and the other on her lower back as he held tightly. She was so taken off guard by his embrace that she dropped her school bag and wrapped her arms around his back, gripping the back of his white shirt as she closed her eyes taking in his warmth.

"No," he said, whispering into her ear, "I may still be getting used to not having my Shinigami powers, but I would gladly never get them back if it meant you and I could live the rest of our lives together. You are all that I need, just give me some time to pull myself together and get used to being a normal human again. Don't you worry about me, ok?" Orihime pulled back slightly to scorn him.

"But Ichi-kun," Again Ichigo cut her off, this time he kissed her deeply. She did not fight back, but let her self indulge in his embrace and returned his kiss, bringing her hands up and placing them on his chest.

"Oh for the love of, Can you two actually wait until you get home before you start eating each others faces?" A girl's voice broke in, not just ruining the moment, but destroying it.

"Oh piss off Rukia-chan!" Ichigo shouted scolding her as she got out of the small red car she was driving.

"Hi Kuchiki-san," Orihime said as she blushed deeply.

"Kurosaki-kun, lets go," Rukia said firmly and nodded towards the car.

"Er, why? What's the rush?" he said, taken aback by the sudden appearance of Rukia and her being bossy, which was nothing new.

"I can't get a hold of the Seireitei and Urahara-kun wants to see you back in Karakura Town." She said in her bossy tone.

"What about Orihime-chan?" Ichigo asked still holding onto her as if his life depended on it.

"Oh, no Ichi-kun, "Orihime said smiling, "I will stay here, you probably will be gone for a few days and I don't want you to get behind on you school work, you know, since it's the middle of the week and all."

"How would you know I would be gone for a few days?" Ichigo turned his head and looked at her quizzically, he figured she knew something.

"Oh, just a guess!" she laughed unusually which only fed Ichigo's suspicion.

"Why does that old man want to see me?" Ichigo demanded as he turned back to Rukia.

"Oh fuck it," Rukia threw up her arms in fit, "you want to know?"

"No shit, that's why I asked," He said a little too harshly.

"Fine," Rukia said grinning, "He said something about how he had a way of getting your Shinigami powers back." Ichigo let go of Orihime and took a step towards Rukia, unsure if she was being truthful.

"Are you serious?" Ichigo asked glaring at her.

"When I told him about you loosing your Shinigami powers completely, he said he had a plan." Rukia walked around the front of the car and leaned against the passenger door, "you know that man, he has plans for his plans." Rukia was wearing a light blue shirt with a rabbit imprinted on it and khaki caprice pants, he usually short black hair had grown a little bit longer than it used to be.

"Sorry, tell him I pass," Ichigo said shortly and turned around to walk away. Orihime stopped him by grabbing onto his arm and pulled herself closer, pressing her body against his side.

"Do it for me, Ichi-kun," she said resting her forehead on his shoulder, "I know what we said, but I cannot bare to see you in so much pain. What you are now, it isn't you, it isn't the man I love. Be happy and do what your heart tells you to do."

"Ori-chan," Ichigo said as he gazed at her, tears were building up in her eyes, "ok, I will do this for you." He leaned over and kissed her forehead gently.

"Still can't get over the idea of the all mighty bad ass Kurosaki Ichigo being lulled by a redhead beauty," Rukia laughed before she returned to the driver side door and opened it.

"Piss off," Ichigo groaned. Orihime let go of his arm and motioned for him to go, "well can we at least drop her off at the apartment? I don't want to leave her walking home by herself."

"Oh no I will be fine," Orihime motioned waving her hands in protest.

"Yeah alright," Rukia said, "get in."

"Ok," Orihime said still partially protesting as she hopped into the back seat of the small four door sedan.

"But, er, do you know how to drive this thing?" Ichigo asked as he buckled the seat belt.

"I am getting the hang of it," Rukia admitted, causing Ichigo and Orihime to give each other a concerned look.

* * *

Rukia got Orihime home in one piece, though there were quite a few close calls but she really did seem to be getting the hang of driving a human car. He dared not to ask how she came across and why anyone would allow her to drive. But that was not what was now Ichigo, there was something in the air that made him uneasy.

"So how come you can't get a hold of the Seireitei?" He asked, trying to calm his growing anxiety.

"Don't know," She admitted, "last I heard there was a threat that was making its way from Huecho Mundo to the Rukongai, but that was the last I heard."

"And you drove all the way back here to just pick me up? Didn't you just arrive here in the world of the living the other day?" the car started to struggle up a hill, the old beat up car had seen better days.

"Yeah," Rukia said, "it was on Urahara-kun's request that I retrieve you immediately. But he only mentioned that he had a way of getting your powers back."Ichigo glanced up at the sky; something was drawing his attention to a certain spot above the city. The road wound around a bend which took them to face the valley below where the city lay. It was a large city, much larger the Karakura Town and the view was miraculous but something made him very uneasy.

"Stop the car," Ichigo demanded suddenly just before the road turned around another bend, taking them away from the city.

"What why?" Rukia said but she complied.

"I don't know," Ichigo admitted as he opened the car door and jumped out, running across the street to the guard rail. Rukia was right behind him, confused with the situation, "I just have this feeling that something bad is about to happen. I have had it all day, but now, now the feeling is overwhelming. It's like I sense a reiatsu, but it is different."

"I don't sense anything," She said watching Ichigo, confused by his sudden actions.

"THERE!" Ichigo shouted, it was as if the heavens turned against them, the sky turned black as a hole ripped open. The ground shook and Rukia began to wheeze. Something dark and dense began pouring through like water.

"Rukia?" he turned to her and she was collapsed on the ground breathing heavily.

"This reiatsu," She panted, "I- I can't- I can't move," The ground shook more violently and he could visibly see she was getting weaker, this reiatsu must be immense.

"Rukia-chan" He said kneeling beside her to see if she was alright, "be strong," the ground stopped shaking almost instantaneously, drawing Ichigo's attention to the hole in the sky. How could he see it? He had no powers to speak of yet he could see this hole which he had seen many times before when a hollow would enter into the world of the living.

"I am alright, it stopped," She panted as she sat up. As if a light switch was turned on, the sky turned a deep blue as a sphere blasted from within the tear; it had a long tail that followed behind it.

"What the fuck is that?" he gasped standing up as he watched the sphere descend towards the ground. He did not have to wait long for an answer when there was a blinding flash of light, blinding him for just a second, but in that second all hell broke loose. The sphere impacted the ground, vaporizing the downtown area instantly, which was quickly followed by an explosion that rivaled a hydrogen bomb. Within seconds Ichigo and Rukia were blasted by the impact shockwave which was followed by a blast of the densest reiatsu Rukia had ever felt.

The mushroom cloud reached high into the sky as the returned to its usual blue. But the damage was done, as Ichigo looked around the city he was horrified at what he saw; the entire downtown was a massive crater, and the outer lying city was flat, nothing stood but the piles of rubble that once were buildings. The sphere had impacted the ground with such force that it sent fractures in every direction.

"What the fuck could do this?" Rukia said aghast as she shook her head in disbelief. Ichigo couldn't find the words, everything was gone, destroyed. Orihime, Chad, Arisawa, and Keigo were still in the city, and Ichigo feared that they were just a few of the countless victims that perished in the blast.

"No," Ichigo forced himself to say, "the question is WHO could do this."

"What do you mean?" Rukia asked looking confused at Ichigo as he stood up, gripping the guard rail until his hands turned white.

"That was a cero," Ichigo continued, "And for a split second I could feel some ones reiatsu in the shockwave."

"Who's did you feel?"

"Mitsuko Amagi."

* * *

"Well now," Kisuke Urahara said as he watched the many monitors that dotted the large dark room, "that escalated quickly," He ran his fingers around the brim of his green stripped hat as he sat back in the large chair, his other arm folded across his chest. On each screen a different news reporter stood at various locations in and around the devastated city. Each one giving their own takes on what happened; each ranging from an asteroid to a blatant nuclear strike by a foreign country. There was some outlandish ones as well.

"What do you mean?" Yoruichi said watching the screens in disbelief.

"First a hollow with unknown origins appeared, forcing Amagi-san to use his bankai, which he ultimately has issues controlling, the hollow tried to escape knowing it stood no chance and tried escaping to the one place it never had been before." Urahara said swiveling the chair to face Yoruichi, "Either that was a freak accident," he grinned devilishly, "or someone just set up our newest Taichou."

"Who would do that?" She was confused by what he meant, though he rarely made much sense the first time around.

"As I feared there are forces in this universe that are even more powerful than even I, The great Kisuke Urahara could fathom, but I don't know the specifics. Yet. Oh and that Hollow? Do you want to know where it originated from?" He said coyly, sitting up in the chair. Yoruichi nodded, this seemed even more crazy than usual, but most of the time this crazed man was right.

"That was a spawn from hell itself."


	41. Memories Should Be Held Close

Ch 41 Memories Should be Held Close

"Hey! Don't tell me you fell asleep again Amagi-san!" That familiar voice broke through the silence. Amagi held his eyes closed but he did try and open them.

'What's going on?' he thought to himself as he felt the warm air around him, 'where am I?' He listened to that voice continue to banter on about nothing. His hands were pressed down on something cold and hard as it lay across his lap. His legs were folded and he was resting against what he could figure was a boulder.

"And just when I was getting comfortable I have to get up," That voice, could it be? It has been nearly four years since he last heard that voice, but it is one of those voices he could never forget no matter how he tried; it stuck with him and it also haunted him. The question of where he was ran through his mind again; this seemed too familiar as if it were déjà vu.

"If I have to wake you up Amagi-san, it won't be pleasant!"

'This is too familiar. Could this really be?' Amagi thought as his eyes slowly opened, opening the flood gate for light to pour into his eyes. The newly found sunlight left him disoriented, as if he had not seen light in days. Everything went from being drowned out by the light to being dark silhouettes. There were large masses all around him, but the one directly in front of him was out of place; it didn't seem to fit in with the large scale shadows.

"Well looks like you are awake, but you know you have to start over this lesson right?"

"Maybe if you were shut the hell up, maybe I could concentrate on meditating!" A new voice rang in, but he quickly realized it was his own.

"No need to raise your voice," The shapeless silhouette became more refined; the outline of someone lying on their side, resting on a small object with their knee bent. There was an odd rectangular shape where the head should be.

"But why are you having me meditate sensei? It doesn't make much sense if my training is to become stronger." Sensei, that hit Amagi like a kick in the stomach, this was not happening now, it happened three decades ago. He was reliving a memory as if he were spectating what happened through his own eyes. It id not make any sense to Amagi why or even how this was happening.

"Oh there are reasons, but for now, don't question them, alright my dear Amagi-san?"

"Fine, if this helps me achieve Bankai I will do it," The haze cleared and there he was, as clear as ever, Urahara Kisuke; his green and white stripped hat, his oversized clothes, that stupid and irritating grin. He even had his fan out and was trying to partially conceal his gloating. Out of all the memories, why this one?

"Aw Kisuke-kun, are you giving him a hard time again?" a new lower voice broke in, and Amagi tilted his head back and looked up above him; a black cat was sitting at the very top of the boulder, its tail wagging from side to side. It seemed to smile down at him as it stared back with its large yellow eyes.

"Oh what would give you that idea?" He said coyly.

"Just wouldn't suit you if you weren't," The cat said. That cat, how could Amagi forget about that cat? It was always there; but not always in the same form.

"What do you think you are doing up there Yoruichi-sensei?" Amagi heard himself call out with a slight edge in his voice.

"Oh the usual," the cat responded back with a chuckle, "watching from a far and butting in when needed."

"More like stalking than watching," Amagi mumbled under his breath as he gave Kisuke a sarcastic look.

"What was that Amagi-kun?" the cat growled. With that there was a loud poof and before Amagi could realize it, a new figure stood in front of him with their back turned to him.

"It was nothing," Amagi cooed as he leaned back against the hard stone. Amagi recognized this toned physique, the round bottom, the smooth dark skin and the long black hair tied in a pony tail at the back of her head.

"Yoruichi-san, is it necessary for you to stand between Amagi-san and I naked like that?" Kisuke said coyly, staying still as he continued to lie on the ground.

"I don't mind," Amagi said as he smirked slightly. Yoruichi looked over her shoulder as she adjusted her weight to one leg and tilted her body. She put a hand on her hip as she glared at Amagi.

"Realy now?" She said as she turned around, grinning as she did. She still had her hand on her hip but now Amagi could see everything else; her ample breasts her flat stomach and other parts that would make most men pass out from blood loss caused by a bloody nose.

'She always had an amazing body, but it has been so many years,' Amagi thought to himself as he recalled how many times she had done this to him, 'oh how I could relive this so many times over.'

"Yup let me soak in your beauty for a while alright?" Amagi herd himself say, the two of them always did that; she would try and make him uncomfortable by transforming in front of him; but it never worked.

"You two are no fun. Someday I will get someone off guard," neither of them said a word, but Amagi continued to stare, "Tsk, I'm going to go put some cloths on before I ACTUALLY feel violated for once," with that Yoruichi turned around and waved good bye before she used her Shunpo and disappeared from sight.

"Now that the distractions gone," Kisuke said sighing deeply, "get back to Amagi-san."

"Sure," Amagi replied and slowly he closed his eyes, shutting out the world around him.

'Five years later I would go from calling these people family and looking up to them to betraying them and calling them my enemy. Than another decade after that I would try to kill them along with the other shinigami. How stupid and naïve I was. Than and even now. All what they did was take me in and make me stronger, train me and treat me as if I was their own. I should have stayed; I should have done what Kisuke-sensei wanted me to do. But I was stupid and power hungry, I wanted Bankai and he would not teach me how to use it. He said in time but I wanted it than and there. Stupid; even now after I have achieved it, I wish I would have taken the time to learn it, maybe it would have come out different. Maybe I would have ACTED different.'

"Sekushi-san," He heard a familiar girl's voice ring in his ears, "Sekushi-san I know what you want." This voice he knew very well; Tenshi.

"I know you want to learn every power of mine, so I will teach you," Tenshi said, "but you have to do one thing for me."

"And what would that be?" Amagi heard himself ask.

"Say my name," She giggled.

"I already said your name before," He said flatly

"Say it again," She continued to giggle, "say my name Amagi-san."

"Fine," He sighed, "Tenshi."

"Oh, you gotta do better than that!" She cooed.

"Tenshi," Amagi repeated.

"Say my name like you want me," She said seductively, "say my name like you would Rangiku-chan's name during when you and her were deep in passionate love-."

"Oh fine," Amagi grumbled, he tried his best at saying her name as seductively and arousing as possible.

"Sekushi-san!" she moaned, "I think you got me all hot and bothered now. I will teach you everything about my powers and let you use me as you will. Though just remember one thing though, if you don't do exactly what I say the outcome may be more harmful than good. Besides, as I promised if you die your soul will be mine to pleasure and do as I want. I doubt we will have that issue I'm sure. You have Rangiku-chan and Kiriko-chan to protect." She giggled as the darkness slowly grew brighter and brighter until it was he was surrounded by nothing but white.

'This was the old Tenshi, before I lost control and let my anger and self loathing consume me. She was always like that; carefree and very open. Now she has grown up so to say, she is more serious and closed in. I fucked up the relationship between her and I, and now I have to make amends. Slowly but surely I will. But will I ever get the old Tenshi back?'

Amagi took a step forward and he quickly realized this was new; this was not in the memory he was just reliving. That memory would have taken to his soul but this was not it; he did not know where he was now. He moved his arms and turned his head side to side; he had his own movement again.

"Where am I?" Amagi thought aloud, there was nothing about this that was familiar; being surrounded by nothing but white. It was dense though, like a thick fog in the early morning hours but there was no moisture, there was no sensation about it as he swatted the air in front of him as if it were smoke from a burnt out candle.

"Amagi-kun," A voice echoed through the white, it was distant and seemed so far away. It was Nia's voice and she sounded distraught.

"What's going on?" Amagi said as he turned around trying to pinpoint where her voice came from, but there was nothing else.

"I will tell you wants going on," The voice sent chills up Amagi's spine. He spun around to see no one even though it sounded as if someone was whispering only inches from his right ear.

"Who's there?" Amagi called out, reaching behind his back for his zanpakuto instinctively, but it was not there. He continued to circle looking for any indication from where the voice came from.

"Amagi-kun, or should I say Sekushi-kun," The voice whispered in his ear again, startling him once again. This time it was in his left ear and he quickly spun to see who it was. There was no one to be seen. That name, there was only one person who had ever called him that, and she never does anymore; Tenshi.

"Tenshi-san, where are you?" he called out "What's going on here?" a shadow appeared in the white mist, its shape shifted as if a wind was blowing heavily, distorting it.

"Amagi-kun," she whispered but Amagi stayed still, watching the shadow as it grew larger, "You remember all my abilities right?"

"Yes," He said calmly, "you absorb nearby reishi and store it to boost our strength. You also have the ability to absorb and store memories, and if you want you can show them to a person and have them relive that memory as many times as you would like."

"Good, so you haven't forgotten about me," She whispered, "I only store the memories of the people I want to, because those memories become MY memories. I have absorbed memories twice and that is more than what I can handle."

"Twice?" Amagi asked.

"I will tell you who the second one was in time, but now I have to ask, why do you think I showed you that particular memory?"

"No idea," He said shrugging his shoulders.

"That is where it all began," She whispered, but Amagi could hear the sorrow in her voice, "that is where you started to fall; I was too stupid to see it. I was to naïve to see that I was only aiding in your downfall."

"I saw my fault," Amagi argued, "I saw what I had become and I tried to change my ways."

"It was to late at that point," She said even softer, "Nia-san's apparent death let your true anger and hatred consume you."

"And I have come far from that," He protested.

"No, no you have not." The shadow was just in arms reach from him, but when he went to take a step closer, she seemed to move away, staying at the same distance. The mist partially around her right leg from her feet to her mid thigh, her left leg was bare. There was a black marking that snaked upwards from the top of her foot and wrapped around her leg and seemed to continue on past what he could see. It only lasted for a few seconds but that is all that Amagi needed.

"What do you mean?" He asked, unsure of what she was getting at.

"Nia-san my be calming and make you happy, she brings out the best in you," She whispered, "but I can sense the anger, the evil still inside you, it never fully left. Your actions those four years ago only contained it, but I know it is lurking somewhere out of reach." The mist cleared up around her waist and torso, revealing that the black marking still continued up from her right leg; but this time it blossomed and covered half of her body starting from her leg and arching up and across her stomach to her left side. The black marking outlined her toned stomach and muscles superbly. A jagged stripe of bare skin was exposed from her hip down and diagonally to her inner thigh and where the black markings ended and her bare naked skin began the outline was not uniform and created jagged angles. On her right the black started from her middle finger and branched out across the top of her hand, it than wrapped around her wrist and than snaked around her arm. Her left arm was bare and had not markings. The mist consumed her body again just as quickly as it dissipated.

"You warned me about using Bankai," He admitted, "You said to only use it when I absolutely had to and not to use it without a just reason. But I had to, Nia-san and the others were in danger. I had no other choice," that is when the anger, the hidden evil reveals itself, that is what Amagi came to the conclusion shortly after achieving it. That is why he never used it; he couldn't get over the fear of loosing control. Not again, not ever again could he do it.

"You have wonderful memories Amagi-kun," She whispered, "Those are the ones to cherish; your love for Nia-san, your memories of Rangiku-san, your childhood with your sister Kiriko-can and remember all your friends. Hold those closely to your heart when you feel like you can't hold in your anger any longer. Love them more than what you think is enough and protect them with every ounce of your being." The mist cleared again, this time across her upper body from her chest to the very bottom of her chin. The black covered much of her chest except for an area around her left shoulder. It started from her right collar bone and arched across her chest and ended just under her left arm. The outline was jagged but would explain why her left arm was still bare. The only part of her breasts that were covered with the black markings were the top o them along with the nipples; the bottom part was still bare skin. A black stripe along her throat created a band that resembled a choker necklace. Her chin was bare and had no signs of any of the markings. "And if it means anything to you, protect me," She whispered even softer.

"I already protect you and all of them," Amagi pointed out, "I know what I have to do."

"No, not from outside dangers, not from Hollows or other evils that YOU can slay easily," she became more serious, "protect us from the evil that not even you can beat. Protect us from YOURSELF."

'Protect them from myself? Does she mean the evil and the anger that she senses hiding deep within me? How I do that? There must be some way I can do that, but how do I protect them from something that I know I am not?' Amagi stood still taking in what she had said and than it dawned on him. There truly is only one way all his deep and inner feelings can be vented; his Bankai. That made him question if he really was as good of a person as he tried to be because in his Bankai, it draws out every ounce of reiatsu from within him and Tenshi and exploits their true nature.

"What do I have to do?" Amagi asked, he needed to know, he needed to hear what he already knew what to do.

"You need to control you emotions, specially your anger." Tenshi spoke, but it was more than just a whisper, "you think you are controlling it by repressing it, but that's when it gets you; it will explode out of control and that's what happens with Bankai."

"How do I control it rather than repress it? I thought the two were the same?"

"No, repressing anger is like repressing a beast in a cage, it will break free. You have to learn how to tame it, to live with it." The white mist began to dissipate around Tenshi, starting from her feet and working upward.

"How? Tell me what to do?" He pleaded, he had to know, he had to protect the ones he loved no matter what, even if it was from himself.

"Gladly," she replied. Her hand extended out from the thinning mist; her palm facing upward, her finger slightly bent. Amagi stared at it for a moment before he reacted. He rose up his right hand slowly, still gazing at the black fingernail polish on the nails of her fingers. He gently placed his hand in hers; her hand was soft, and seemed very delicate so he held it gently as possible, "when you feel angry, express it. When you feel sad, express it. You should not bottle in your emotions. Just remember how it felt when you could not feel anything." The mist that surrounded her was gone, he could see the entirety of her clearly; from her feet to the top of her head. Her once black hair was now dark blue and flowed around her as if she was in water and her cyan eyes seemed to be glowing. Her full lips were black from lipstick. She leaned forward, pressing her cheek against his, whispering, "And never question how much of an amazing person you are. I never have," She kissed him gently on the cheek, leaving an imprint of her lips.

The ground seemed to give way and he felt himself begin to fall. He held onto her hand until he no longer could. He could see her smiling as he grew farther and farther way, but that's not what he was fixated on; he swore he could see tears in her eyes. She was as easily able to express emotions as he was to hiding them and she was right, he had to not hide them; it would all catch up to him eventually and it may already have. What Tenshi was wearing and her glowing eyes as well as the altered hair color might be a side effect of his lack of expressing his anger and all those negative emotions. There could even be a different reason all together, but at the moment he did not care.

"Never loose control, Sekushi-kun, my sexy Amagi-kun," He heard her call out as darkness began to flood and drown out the white. It was as if he was slowly drifting downward in a bottomless ocean, the light seemed to become farther away until it was at a single point. He felt a calm sensation as he fell; it was as if all the weight he had ever felt was lifted off him and he was free from it. He closed his eyes and let himself fall.

* * *

(a/n) Sekushi (sexy)


End file.
